Four Individuals Charged in Crypto Scheme Targeting Spanish-Speakers
Forcount Trader Systems' creator and promoters orchestrated $8.4 million fraud
Washington D.C., Dec. 14, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Francisley Valdevino Da Silva, Juan Antonio Tacuri Fajardo, Ramon Antonio Perez Arias, and Jose Ramiro Coronado Reyes for their roles in creating and promoting Forcount Trader Systems, Inc., a fraudulent crypto asset pyramid scheme that raised more...
SEC Alleges Son and Father-in-Law Touted Faith to Target Church Members in $20 Million Offering Fraud
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Brett M. Bartlett, his father-in-law Scott A. Miller, and their companies for fraudulent securities offerings that raised at least $20.5 million, some of which Bartlett and Miller misused for personal expenses.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least June 2018 to May 2020, Bartlett and Miller raised funds from...
Rapper Who Boasted in Music Video About Committing COVID Fraud Sentenced to Over 6 Years in Prison on Fraud, Gun and Drug Crimes
A rapper who boasted in a YouTube music video about getting rich quickly by scamming a COVID relief program was sentenced today to 77 months in federal prison.
Fontrell Antonio Baines, 33, a.k.a. “Nuke Bizzle,” of Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced by United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, who also ordered him to pay $704,760 in restitution to the California...
SEC Charges 18 Defendants in International Scheme to Manipulate Stocks Using Hacked US Brokerage Accounts
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 18 individuals and entities for their roles in a fraudulent scheme in which dozens of online retail brokerage accounts were hacked and improperly used to purchase microcap stocks to manipulate the price and trading volume of those stocks. Those charged include Rahim Mohamed of Alberta, Canada, who is alleged to have coordinated...
Hadari Oshri sued for copyright infringement in 2017
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: On June 22, 2021, Hadari Oshri –Marc Lubaszka’s business partner– filed a frivolous civil harassment restraining order (CHRO) against Investor News reporter Aitana Vargas to stop the publication of her investigative series “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar crime,” and any subsequent installments or future media coverage. On August 3, 2021, Vargas filed an...
Creator of CoinDeal Crypto Scheme and Seven Others Charged Over Alleged $45 Million Fraud
Orchestrator used investors’ funds to buy cars, real estate, and a boat
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Neil Chandran, Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, Linda Knott, AEO Publishing Inc, Banner Co-Op, Inc, and BannersGo, LLC for their involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme named CoinDeal that raised more than $45 million from sales of...
Consulting Companies to Pay $11.3M for Failing to Comply with Cybersecurity Requirements in Federally Funded Contract
Guidehouse Inc., headquartered in McLean, Virginia, has paid $7,600,000 and Nan McKay and Associates (Nan McKay), headquartered in El Cajon, California, has paid $3,700,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to meet cybersecurity requirements in contracts intended to ensure a secure environment for low-income New Yorkers to apply online for federal rental assistance...
South Carolina Man Convicted of COVID-19 Relief Fraud
A federal jury in Atlanta convicted a South Carolina man today of fraudulently obtaining a $300,000 forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Travis Crosby, 32, of Wellford, conspired to submit a PPP loan application...
Canadian Man Sentenced for Operating $175M Psychic Mass-Mailing Fraud Scheme
A Canadian man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Eastern District of New York for perpetrating a massive psychic mass-mailing fraud scheme that stole more than $175 million from more than 1.3 million victims in the United States.
Following a two-week trial, a federal jury convicted Patrice Runner, 57, a Canadian and French citizen, in June 2023...
16 defendants charged in international $194M “pump and dump” plots
SEC Uncovers $194 Million Penny Stock Schemes that Spanned Three Continents
This week the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against 16 defendants, located in the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Monaco, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, for participating in multi-year fraudulent penny stock schemes that generated more than $194 million in illicit proceeds....