The trial of the former CEO for the National Lampoon, Inc., Timothy S. Durham, on ten counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud, commenced yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Durham is alleged to have defrauded approximately 5,000 investors,… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: wire
KY Attorney Bryan Coffman Ordered to Forfeit Millions from Oil-Drilling Scam
Posted in Forfeiture, FraudLexington, Kentucky, attorney Bryan Coffman was convicted last year in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on eight counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, two counts of securities fraud, 10 counts of money laundering and one count of money laundering conspiracy. His wife, Megan Coffman, was acquitted of the… Continue Reading
7th Circuit Reverses Mail and Wire Fraud Conviction of Contractor for Alleged Bid Rigging
Posted in Fraud, Mail/WIre/Honest Services FraudSteven Fenzl was the principal of Urban Services of America, Inc. ("Urban"). Fenzl was charged with alleged mail fraud and wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The charges related to alleged bid-rigging under the Sherman Act on a 2005 contract to refurbish the City of Chicago’s garbage carts…. Continue Reading
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Conrad Black’s Appeal of His Two Remaining Convictions
Posted in FraudThe U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied the petition for certiorari by former international media mogul, Canadian citizen and British Lord, Conrad Moffat Black, as reported in the Washington Post. Mr. Black was the CEO of Hollinger International, Inc., which owned newspapers worldwide. He was indicted (in an indictment made available by FindLaw which may be viewed… Continue Reading
Utah Man and Canadian Citizen Indicted In Georgia for Conspiracy, Mail and Wire Fraud, May Have Been Conned by Their European Contacts
Posted in Fraud, indictmentAs reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, Thomas Repke of Holladay, Nevada, has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on 22 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud. The charges are based on allegations that Mr. Repke, through the companies Coadum Capital and Mansell Acquisition Co., allegedly defrauded… Continue Reading
Rome Man Enters Last Minute Plea In Phantom Timber Prosecution
Posted in FraudAaron Wilbert Freeman of Rome, Georgia, pled guilty last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud after a jury had been selected in his trial, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District… Continue Reading
Georgia Piano Importer Charged Over Alleged 100 Year Old Elephant Ivory; Loganville Man Allegedly Bilked New York Investor Into Paying $5 Million in Foreign Currency Scheme
Posted in Fraud, indictment, MiscellaneousIn Georgia Federal Criminal news, the Associated Press reports that Federal prosecutors charged A-440 Pianos, Inc., a piano importer in the Atlanta area, and its owner, Pascal Vieillard, last week with alleged illegal smuggling of 855 elephant ivory key tops into the U.S. Mr. Vieillard and the company pled not guilty, and Mr. Vieillard’s counsel has stated… Continue Reading
Tom Petters, The “Minnesota Madoff,” Gets 50 Years Out of Potential 335 Years for $3.7 Billion Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Fraud, Ponzi Schemes, SentencingFormer Minnesota billionaire and former owner of Polaroid and Sun Country Airlines Tom Petters was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment yesterday by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, according to the Associated Press. Petters, 52, was charged with a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme–the largest in Minnesota history– which had over 500 victims and… Continue Reading
New York Defendant Indicted for $50 Million in Fraud from ATM, Armored Car and Other Businesses
Posted in Bank Fraud, FraudAs reflected in an FBI press release, an indictment was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Robert Egan, President of Mount Vernon Money Center (MVMC) on Wednesday charging Egan with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and six counts of bank fraud for… Continue Reading
Appeal of Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling to Test Constitutionality of Federal Honest Services Fraud Statute
Posted in FraudAs noted by Ashby Jones at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of U.S. v. Skilling on Monday at 1 p.m., Eastern Time. The central issue to be argued to the Court is whether the federal honest services fraud statute, 18 United States Code 1346, is… Continue Reading
Former Head of SK Foods Indicted for Food Fraud and Mislabeling
Posted in Fraud, Noteworthy CasesFrederick Scott Salyer, 54, former owner of California-based SK Foods, which grows, processes and distributes tomatoes, was indicted on Friday on charges of racketeering, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Tomatoes from SK Foods are widely used in tomato-based products including sauces, ketchups and juices. Salyer is alleged to have manipulated… Continue Reading
Edward Stein, Architect of $46 Million Hedge Fund Ponzi Scheme, Sentenced to 9 Years
Posted in Fraud, Noteworthy CasesEdward T. Stein, a former hedge fund manager, was sentenced to nine years in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for a Ponzi scheme which defrauded investors of $46 million, according to BusinessWeek. Stein was arrested last April and pled guilty last June to counts of securities fraud… Continue Reading
Comverse Technologies Enters Into $255 Million Settlement Over Backdating of Stock Option Awards; Convicted Former General Counsel Fights On
Posted in Fraud, Securities FraudAs reported by Law.com, New York-based Comverse Technology, Inc., the worlds largest manufacturer of voice mail software, has entered into a $225 million settlement in a class action brought against it stemming from a backdating scandal. William Sorin, Comverse’s former general counsel, and Comverse’s former CEO, Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, were charged by the SEC and… Continue Reading
“J4guar17″ a/k/a “Soupnazi” a/k/a Super Hacker Albert Gonzalez Pleads Guilty to One of the Largest Data Thefts in U.S. History
Posted in Cybercrime, FraudOnce again demonstrating the massive potential for crime created by our digital age, 28 year-old Albert Gonzalez pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to payment card networks last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey according to a DOJ press release. Gonzalez was charged with hacking… Continue Reading
Rothstein Investigation Widens to Include Attorneys, Police Chief; Pols Return Donations
Posted in Fraud, High Profile CasesThe fallout from Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein’s alleged fraudulent scheme to bilk investors out of hundreds of millions continues to fall. Florida Governor Charlie Crist has told the media that he will return campaign contributions received from Rothstein and employees of his law firm, a total of $76,250. The announcement by Crist follows a… Continue Reading
Hedge Fund Managers, Attorneys, Others Fall in Rajaratnam/Galleon Insider Trading Investigation
Posted in Fraud, High Profile Cases, indictmentRaj Rajaratnam and Danielle Chiesi were indicted in indictment alleging 17 counts of securities and wire fraud on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. v. Raj Rajaratnam et al, Case No. 09-2306, as reported by the New York Daily News here, here and here, and the New… Continue Reading
Florida Executive Sentenced in $10.5 Million Embezzlement Scheme
Posted in Corporate Crimes, False Claims, Fraud, Money Laundering, Securities FraudAlthough it may be considered small change when compared with the fraud of fellow Floridian Scott Rothstein, according to an FBI press release, Gary Ernest Williams, former Chief Financial Officer for Marian Gardens Tree Farm (MGTF) in Groveland, Florida, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on Monday in the U.S. District Corut for the Middle District of… Continue Reading
Fort Lauderdale Attorney Scott Rothstein Pleads Not Guilty to Information Alleging $1.2 Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme
Posted in False Claims, Forfeiture, Fraud, High Profile Cases, Money Laundering, Securities FraudIn response to allegations uncomfortably similar to those against former New York celebrity lawyer and arch Ponzi-schemer Marc Dreier, Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein, head of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler, P.A., appeared in response to a criminal information in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday. The information charges… Continue Reading
Indictment in the Bear Stearns Prosecution Traces Origins of the Financial Crisis
Posted in Fraud, High Profile CasesThe indictment against Bearn Stearns executives Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin is available here. Cioffi and Tannin are charged in the only major prosecution to date arising out of the collapse of numerous Wall Street firms beginning in 2007. As related in the indictment, the Bear Stearns High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund Ltd. ("High… Continue Reading
Bear Stearns Execs Head for Trial on Wire and Securities Fraud Charges
Posted in False Claims, High Profile Cases, Money LaunderingAs is well known, Bear Stearns, one of the largest investment banks in the world, was sold to JP Morgan Chase and effectively ceased to exist in March of 2008, after two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in collateralized debt obligations—mainly subprime home loans—and once worth approximately $1.6 billion, lost nearly all of their value…. Continue Reading
Jury Begins Deliberating Rep. William Jefferson’s Fate Following Over 2 & 1/2 Hours of Jury Instructions
Posted in False Claims, Fraud, High Profile Cases, Money LaunderingAs reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Judge T.S. Ellis, III, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia read instructions to the jury yesterday which lasted over 2 & 1/2 hours, and the jury retired for its deliberations in the case against former U.S. Representative William Jefferson. The jury deliberated for… Continue Reading
Trial Ends in Case of Former Representative William Jefferson; Jury Deliberations to Begin Today
Posted in False Claims, Fraud, High Profile Cases, Money LaunderingThe trial of former Representative William Jefferson, which has gone on for six weeks in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, will come to an end today. As reported by Ashby Jones at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and UPI, both sides gave their closing arguments yesterday. Judge T.S. Ellis… Continue Reading
DeKalb County Man Arrested in Multimillion Dollar Ponzi Scheme; Victims Included Parents
Posted in False Claims, Fraud, Money Laundering, Noteworthy CasesAs reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB Radio, Anthony Ray, a DeKalb County resident, solicited money from investors by promising them large returns from real estate investments by his company, Key Funding Group. He would frequent local churches to locate victims, making presentations to the congregations. Ray lulled his victims by giving them… Continue Reading
Sir Robert Allen Stanford’s Continuing Pretrial Detention Blues
Posted in False Claims, Fraud, High Profile Cases, Money LaunderingSir Robert Stanford has filed a Motion for Relief from Oppressive Jail Conditions. Stanford is currently being held at the Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe, Texas. The Motion alleges that temperatures have reached 100 degrees and that the cell in which Stanford is being housed in a cell with 8 to 10 other men… Continue Reading