Fraud

Washington D.C., March 8, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged siblings John and JonAtina (Tina) Barksdale with defrauding thousands of retail investors out of more than $124 million through two unregistered fraudulent offerings of securities involving a digital token called “Ormeus Coin.” According to the SEC’s complaint, from June 2017 through the present, the Barksdales offered and...

Fraudulently Claimed Nearly $3 Million in Refunds Two Florida tax preparers were sentenced to prison yesterday for conspiring to defraud the United States and preparing false tax returns. Nikency Alexis, the owner and operator of Unity Tax & Financial Services (Unity Tax), a Broward County tax preparation business, was sentenced to 45 months  in prison, and Thony Guillaume, who worked as...

Washington D.C., April 28, 2020 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Praxsyn Corp. and its CEO for allegedly issuing false and misleading press releases claiming the company was able to acquire and supply large quantities of N95 or similar masks to protect wearers from the COVID-19 virus. The SEC previously issued an order on March 26...

District Attorney George Gascón released two public service announcements today warning people to beware of scams based on the increased demand for COVID-19 testing. “The best way to protect consumers is with knowledge. My goal is to give consumers the information they need to avoid becoming victims,” said District Attorney Gascón. “These crimes are particularly egregious because fake COVID-19 tests...

United States Attorney Leonard C Boyle, Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division, and J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, announced that a federal jury in Bridgeport has found three men guilty of offenses related to their participation in lottery and romance scams that defrauded primarily elderly victims across...

Defendant Cashed Her Deceased Grandmother’s Pension Checks A federal jury convicted an Illinois woman on fraud and tax offenses for cashing her deceased grandmother’s pension checks and preparing false tax returns. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Eunice Salley, aka Eunice Sally Dobyns, aka Oya Awanata-Bey, aka Oya Awanata, 37, of Chicago, was found guilty on all 29...

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Vicki Hackenberg, age 57, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States Chief District Judge Matthew W. Brann, to 12 months of imprisonment for perpetrating a bank fraud and money laundering scheme that included nearly $300,000 in COVID-19 relief guaranteed by the Small...

Hadari Oshri's misleading PPE claims AN IMPORTANT NOTE: On June 22, 2021, Hadari Oshri –Marc Lubaszka’s business partner– filed a frivolous civil harassment restraining order (CHRO) against me to stop the publication of my investigative series “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar crime,” and any subsequent installments or future media coverage. On August 3, 2021, I filed an anti-SLAPP...

A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part IV) The attempted sales are also allegedly linked to conman Marc Lubaszka’s private jet company, Fly Private X, and convicted fraudster Arael Doolittle AN IMPORTANT NOTE: On June 22, 2021, Hadari Oshri –Marc Lubaszka’s business partner– filed a frivolous civil harassment restraining order (CHRO) against me to stop the publication of...

(HOUSTON) – A 56-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison for scheming to fraudulently sell 50 million non-existent N95 facemasks to the Australian government, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. Arael Doolittle pleaded guilty July 27, 2021. Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes ordered him to serve a 54-month sentence. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence...