Father and son convicted of COVID-19 PPP fraud
A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina convicted two men this week for the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $1.7 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to evidence presented during a six-day trial, Izzat...
DOJ charges six individuals with cryptocurrency fraud over $100M in intended losses
The Department of Justice, together with federal law enforcement partners, has announced criminal charges against six defendants in four separate cases for their alleged involvement in cryptocurrency-related fraud, including the largest known Non-Fungible Token (NFT) scheme charged to date, a fraudulent investment fund that purportedly traded on cryptocurrency exchanges, a global Ponzi scheme involving the sale of unregistered crypto...
Hadari Oshri’s Gaya Ventures site claims she’s joined forces with convicted businessman Orlando Birbragher in new biz venture
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: On June 22, 2021, Hadari Oshri –Marc Lubaszka’s business partner– filed a 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 anti-SLAPP...
Leader of Multimillion-Dollar Clinic Scam Resentenced for Health Care and Tax Fraud Conspiracy
A New York man has been resentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $39 million in restitution for his role in a multimillion-dollar health care kickback and tax avoidance conspiracy, after his previous sentence was vacated.
According to court documents, Aleksandr Pikus, 48, of Brooklyn, orchestrated a scheme to refer Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to health care...
Woman Convicted of Laundering Over $750,000 from Health Care Fraud Scheme
A federal jury convicted a Florida woman Friday for laundering approximately $786,000 in money stolen from Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurers as part of a sprawling health care fraud scheme in Miami.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jesmina Ramirez, 50, of Miami Gardens, laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud proceeds by cashing checks...
SEC Charges Wells Fargo Advisors With Anti-Money Laundering Related Violations
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Wells Fargo Advisors for failing to file at least 34 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in a timely manner between April 2017 and October 2021. Wells Fargo Advisors, the St. Louis-based broker-dealer, has agreed to pay $7 million to settle the charges.
According to the SEC’s order, due to...
Former co-CEOs of CA tech startup charged with fraud
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission this week announced charges against Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin, Jr., the former co-CEOs of Fresno, California-based private technology services startup Bitwise Industries Inc., for misleading investors about the company’s finances. Soberal and Olguin have agreed to resolve the charges against them.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Soberal and Olguin made material...
Women’s History Month Event: SEC to Host Free Virtual Financial Fraud Webinar
Washington D.C. — On March 29, 2022 at 7 p.m. ET the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office, in coordination with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Tau Omega Chapter, will celebrate women’s history month with a free investor education panel discussion about staying safe from financial fraud.
The panel will feature four women from the SEC’s New York...
SEC Charges Firm and Five Brokers with Violations of Reg BI
Brokerage firm sold $13.3 million worth of high-risk bonds to retirees and other retail investors
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged registered broker-dealer Western International Securities, Inc. and five of its registered representatives, or brokers – Nancy Cole, Patrick Egan, Andy Gitipityapon, Steven Graham, and Thomas Swan – with violating Best Interest Obligation regulations (commonly referred...