Tag Archives: Ponzi schemes

USA Today reports: A Texas woman was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for her role in a Ponzi scheme, in which she helped a Christian radio host bilk elderly listeners out of millions of dollars, prosecutors said. A jury found Debra Mae Carter, 65, guilty on July 8 of money laundering following a two-week trial, according to the Tarrant …

Politico reports: A New Jersey man who had his prison sentence commuted by then-President Donald Trump was charged on Wednesday in a new, sophisticated fraud scheme that included falsely promising deals to send supplies to Ukraine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey charged Eliyahu Weinstein and four others in a plan that allegedly cost investors millions of dollars. Weinstein …

NBC News reports: Bankrupt crypto firm FTX said on Tuesday that $415 million worth of crypto was hacked from the exchange’s accounts, representing a sizeable portion of the identified assets the company is trying to recover. In a presentation titled “Maximizing FTX Recoveries,” lawyers and advisors for FTX debtors updated the total liquid assets identified for recovery, and said they’re valued at …

Law & Crime reports: Donald Trump, his son Eric Trump and his ex-counselor Hope Hicks have completed their depositions in a lawsuit accusing the former president and his family of promoting a pyramid scheme, a new court filing indicates. Filed in 2018, the lawsuit alleged that the Trump Corporation promoted a multi-level marketing scheme, also known as a pyramid scheme, …

From the Justice Department: Earlier today, Jebara Igbara, also known as “Jay Mazini,” pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to a three count information charging him with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. As set forth in the information, up until March 2021, Igbara maintained a popular Instagram account under the name “Jay Mazini,” where he would …

Reuters reports: U.S. crypto firm Nomad has been hit by a $190 million theft, blockchain researchers said on Tuesday, the latest such heist to hit the digital asset sector this year. Nomad said in a tweet that it was “aware of the incident” and was currently investigating, without giving further details or the value of the theft. Blockchain bridges have …

From the Justice Department: The CEO of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services Inc. (TBIS) pleaded guilty Friday in the Central District of California for his role in a cryptocurrency fraud scheme involving TBIS’s initial coin offering (ICO) that raised approximately $21 million from investors in the United States and overseas. According to court documents, Michael Alan Stollery, 54, of Reseda, California, …

Yahoo News reports: Electric car maker Tesla sold $936 million worth of bitcoin during the second quarter, the company said Wednesday, citing uncertainties related to COVID-19 shutdowns in China. Tesla’s remaining digital asset holdings total $218 million, a sharp drop from its previous stash of $1.2 billion, which had gone untouched over the previous three quarters. “We are certainly open …

Reuters reports: U.S. crypto lender Celsius Network said on Wednesday it had filed for bankruptcy in New York, becoming the latest victim in the cryptocurrency sector of a dramatic plunge in token prices. New Jersey-based Celsius froze withdrawals last month, citing “extreme” market conditions, cutting off access to savings for individual investors and sending tremors through the crypto market. In …

CNN reports: Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker was once a “partner” and “spokesman” for a subsidiary of an energy company, Just Energy, which was repeatedly targeted by states’ attorneys general and utility agencies over allegedly deceptive practices. Walker, the former football player turned businessman, and his technology company 34 Technologies in 2012 partnered with Momentis, a multi-level marketing subsidiary …

TechCrunch reports: A hacker has exploited a vulnerability to steal $100 million from Harmony’s Horizon Bridge, which allows users to transfer their crypto assets from one blockchain to another. Harmony, the U.S. crypto startup behind Horizon, said in a blog post on Friday that it was notified of a “malicious attack” on its proprietary Horizon blockchain bridge on Thursday. Blockchain …

Forbes reports: Bitcoin has crashed under $20,000 per bitcoin after a huge crypto market meltdown wiped away around $400 billion of value in just a week – with some traders’ worst fears materializing. Billionaire investor Jeff Gundlach warned he wouldn’t be surprised to see the bitcoin price fall further to hit $10,000. The brutal bitcoin and crypto crash was partly …

The Idaho Statesman reports: A Boise man who allegedly preyed on Christians, using biblical quotes to entice them to invest in Arizona real estate, is accused of operating a Ponzi scheme and scamming investors out of more than $82 million. Bradley R. Heinrichs, 41, was indicted in Arizona on four counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, illegal control of an …

From the Justice Department: A Los Angeles man was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that raised at least $650 million with bogus claims that investor money would be used to acquire licensing rights to films that HBO and Netflix purportedly had agreed to distribute abroad. Zachary Joseph Horwitz, 35, of the Beverlywood …

The Associated Press reports: Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died early Wednesday in a federal prison, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Madoff died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, apparently from natural causes, the person said. Last year, Madoff’s lawyers filed court …

Law & Crime reports: Federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced that agents with the FBI arrested a 34-year-old Los Angeles actor on charges that he oversaw a Ponzi scheme that swindled investors out of approximately $227 million. Zachary Joseph Horwitz, who also uses the stage name “Zach Avery,” allegedly bilked investors out of their funds by promising the money would be …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A federal grand jury has indicted Dennis Jali, age 35, formerly of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; John Erasmus, age 40, of Upper Marlboro; and Arley Johnson, age 61, of Bowie, Maryland on federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. The indictment was returned on July 27, 2020, and was unsealed …

The Dallas Morning News reports: William Neil “Doc” Gallagher, a financial consultant and radio host who stole more than $20 million from investors, has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars after he reached a plea agreement with Dallas County prosecutors. Gallagher, 79, pleaded guilty Friday to one count each of theft of more than $300,000, money laundering of more …

The Palm Beach Post reports: Calling it “God’s blessings,” the pastor of a suburban West Palm Beach church on Thursday refused to turn over $1.7 million that financial regulators claim rightfully belongs to people who were ensnared in a $30 million Ponzi scheme. A federal judge has temporarily frozen the accounts of Winners Church and its top pastors, Fred and …

Via press release from the SEC: The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against two New York City men accused of running a Ponzi scheme with money raised from investors to fund businesses purportedly created to purchase and resell tickets to such high-demand shows as Adele concerts and the Broadway musical Hamilton. The SEC alleges that Joseph Meli …