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...

SEC Issues Awards Totaling Approximately $3 Million to Three Whistleblowers

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Washington D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced three awards totaling approximately $3 million to whistleblowers who provided information and assistance in three separate covered actions. In the first order, the SEC issued an award of approximately $1.5 million to a whistleblower who provided new information that caused the SEC staff to commence an examination and later open...

New York man defrauds thousands of consumers in direct-mail cash prize scheme

Three Defendants Have Pleaded Guilty to Fraud Conspiracy A New York resident has pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to participating in a fraudulent multimillion-dollar mass-mailing scheme that tricked consumers into paying fees for falsely promised cash prizes. According to court documents, from August 2014 through August 2019, Scott Gammon, 47, of Broad Channel, New York, engaged in...

Adam Rogas raised $123M from investors using phony financial statements

Adam Rogas Raised $123 Million From Investors Using Financial Statements That Showed Tens of Millions of Dollars of Revenue and Assets that Did Not Exist Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ADAM ROGAS, the co-founder and former CEO, CFO, and member of the board of directors of Las Vegas-based cyberfraud prevention...

The US announces increased international cooperation to target Russian assets

Australia, Canada, the European Commission, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the UK, and U.S., Agree to Increased Cooperation to Target Russian Assets Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen today met virtually with representatives from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission, to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO)...

Idaho Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Tribal Fraud Scheme

PORTLAND, Ore. — A resident of the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho and former CEO of the Warm Springs Economic Development Corporation (WSEDC) has pleaded guilty for his role in a fraud scheme targeting the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Roderick Ariwite, 66, pleaded guilty to theft of funds from a tribal organization and interstate transportation of a security taken...

Register for the SEC’s 41st Annual Small Business Forum to Impact Capital Raising Policy

Washington D.C. — The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation will host the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 41st Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation over four virtual sessions April 4-7 from 1:00-2-30pm ET. Each day will focus on a different topic and feature speakers with in-depth knowledge of the issues facing small businesses across...

Call Center Operators charged with fraud in $58 million penny stock scheme

Washington D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against five individuals for allegedly operating a call center in Medellin, Colombia, which used high pressure sales tactics and made false and misleading statements to retail investors to convince them to buy the stocks of small companies trading in the U.S. markets. According to the SEC’s complaint, filed...

La reportera Aitana Vargas pide 23.000 dólares en honorarios tras pulverizar la querella mordaza de Hadari Oshri

Oshri deberá pagar las costas procesales de la corresponsal española por tratar de silenciar su serie de investigación California (USA) – Emprender acciones legales sin fundamento jurídico puede resultar costoso, sobre todo cuando el querellante tiene como objetivo censurar la libertad de expresión en temas de interés público y éste no presenta pruebas admisibles. Es decir, cuando se pierde una...

SEC awards $14M to whistleblower who published fraud report online

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today an award of about $14 million to a whistleblower who published an online report exposing an ongoing fraud. The whistleblower, who days later shared the same information with the SEC and was persistent in reaching out to the staff, prompted the opening of an investigation which resulted in a...