Global Points Owner Gets 2 Years In Prison For Wire Fraud And Money Laundering

Stephen Sparks, a business partner of Global Points, was sentenced on September 29, 2011 for federal fraud offenses after pleading guilty in January of 2011 to wire fraud and money laundering.

Sparks was given a prison sentence of 24 months (2 years) with a following 3 years of supervised release. Sparks will also have to pay $1.3 million in restitution. He will also have to pay a “special assessment” of $200 as ordered by Judge Denise Page Hood.

According to court records, during 2006 through 2009, Sparks took part in a scheme that solicited over $1 million from individual investors known to him as family, friends and former church members. Sparks represented to these investors that his business, Global Points, had an opportunity to purchase a warehouse full of Chinese electronic equipment and sell it in the United States at a substantial profit, returning over five times the amount invested. Sparks also represented that Global Point was in a position for a second had a second deal to acquire CD and DVD players that had been seized n Chicago, Illinois, and were being sold for the payment of back taxes. Sparks indicated that there would be a quick turn around and the profit would be twice the original investment.

Sparks knowingly failed to inform investors that he gave most of their money to Barry Sparks, his uncle. Barry Sparks actually has past criminal convictions for fraud. I suppose it runs in the family now. Stephen Sparks continued to provide excuses for the failure of the deals to close, and continued to solicit additional funds, claiming that closing were on the horizon. In 2007, Spark withdrew $12,000 in cash from his bank account knowing that the funds had been wired by an investor.

“This sentence should send a clear message; schemes designed to defraud innocent investors are violations of Federal law and the consequences of such schemes can and will result in jail time.” said Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Erick Martinez – Source.

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