A federal grand jury in Pheonix returned a 25 count indictment against Gerald Lee Kelly on four counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of money laundering and five counts of structuring financial transactions to avoid federal bank reporting requirements. The indictment alleges that in 2006 and 2007, Kelly operated a …
Thirteen days into the year and I feel like all I’ve written about is Ponzi-scheme after Ponzi-scheme after Ponzi-scheme. Today I bring to you the sentencing of Jenifer Devine, the woman who owned a purported wholesale merchandise broker and admitted to running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that resulted in over $2 million in losses to …
Sydney Jack Williams of Naples, Florida was sentenced today to a year and a day in prison for failing to report more than $12 million to the IRS in related commissions received in Nevin Shapiro’s $930 million Ponzi scheme. Williams previously plead guilty to an Information that charged him with one count of subscribing to …
History repeats itself. Fact. George Santayana once stated, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This fact holds true with every aspect of one’s life, especially in one’s financial life. And especially in the world of scams. If you’re not up to date and familiar with the latest scams and schemes …
Apparently an Illinois investment advisor, Steven Salutric, engaged in an investment fraud that swindled the retirement savings of 10 elderly clients to lose more than $4.26 million. Salutric was charged with one count wire fraud in a criminal information filed in late December of 2011. Apparently Salutric diverted clients’ funds to his personal business associates …
Announced earlier last week was the filing of a civil money-laundering and in rem forfeiture complaint alleging a massive, international scheme in which Lebanese financial institutions, including a bank and two exchange houses linked to Hizballah, used the U.S. financial system to launder narcotics trafficking and other criminal proceeds through West Africa and back into …
An identity thief was sentenced earlier this month to 12 years in prison for managing and east coast credit card fraud ring. Jonathan Oliveras, used counterfeit credit cards encoded with stolen account information up and down the East Coast of the United States and has been sentenced for this crime. In addition to his 12 …
A Massachusetts man was sentenced last week to 8.5 years in prison for a 20-year Ponzi scheme and ordered to pay over $17 million in recitation to over 200 victims. Richard Elkinson was sentenced to 102 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $17 million in …
A Geogira attorney, Gary Wisenbaker, plead guilty to a wire fraud charge in relation to defrauding his own clients. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing, Wisenbaker stole money from his clients by settling civil cases without his clients’ knowledge, and then pocketing the settlement payments. Wisenbaker then used these monies to pay …
Three New York residents were charged last week with an indictment charging them with conspiracy, bank fraud and identity theft offenses related to an alleged participation in an ATM “skimming” scheme across southern New England. Gabriela Graham and two citizens of Turkey, Mehmet Aydin and Ahmet Cilek, were each charged with one count of conspiracy …