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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged New Jersey-based National Realty Investment Advisors LLC (NRIA) and four of its former executives with running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised approximately $600 million from about 2,000 investors.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that beginning in 2018, NRIA and its executives raised funds by promising investors their money would be used to buy and develop real estate properties, which would generate profits through a fund that NRIA set up to invest in the projects. The four executives, Rey E. Grabato II, of Hoboken, New Jersey, Daniel Coley O’Brien, of Southampton, New York, Thomas Nicholas Salzano, of Secaucus, New Jersey, and Arthur S. Scutaro, of Bloomfield, New Jersey solicited investors in a nationwide campaign promising returns of up to 20 percent.
In reality, the complaint alleges, investor money was used to pay distributions to other investors, to fund an executive’s family’s personal and luxury purchases, and to pay reputation management firms to thwart investors’ due diligence of the executives.
“In classic Ponzi fashion, these defendants allegedly told investors that they would be paid distributions from profits of their fund when, in reality, payments were being made from the investors’ own funds,” said Thomas P. Smith, Jr., Associate Regional Director of Enforcement in the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “What makes this behavior even more callous is that they allegedly took advantage of 382 retirees who had contributed more than $94 million in savings.”
The complaint further alleges that NRIA manipulated the real estate fund’s financial statements and the financial information in marketing material distributed to investors, intentionally disguising the misuse of investor funds and creating the false appearance that NRIA and the fund were generating more revenue than they actually were and that operations were successful. However, NRIA had little to no revenue, and it and the fund filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 7, 2022.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court for the District of New Jersey, charges NRIA and the four former executives with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint seeks injunctions against future violations of the antifraud provisions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, penalties, and officer and director bars against the four executives, and names Olena Budinska and Jamie Samul, a/k/a Jamie Samul Salzano as relief defendants.
The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, FBI, and New Jersey Bureau of Securities.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Kerri L. Palen, Lisa P. Knoop, Doreen M. Rodriguez, Richard Hong, Therese A. Scheuer, Alan S. Maza, and Alistaire Bambach, and the litigation will be led by Mr. Hong. The matter is being supervised by Mr. Smith.
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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Kim Kardashian for touting on social media a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion. Kardashian agreed to settle the charges, pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, and cooperate with the Commission’s ongoing investigation.
The SEC’s order finds that Kardashian failed to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to publish a post on her Instagram account about EMAX tokens, the crypto asset security being offered by EthereumMax. Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.
“This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals.”
“Ms. Kardashian’s case also serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities,” Chair Gensler added.
“The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Investors are entitled to know whether the publicity of a security is unbiased, and Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose this information.”
The SEC’s order finds that Kardashian violated the anti-touting provision of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Kardashian agreed to pay the aforementioned $1.26 million, including approximately $260,000 in disgorgement, which represents her promotional payment, plus prejudgment interest, and a $1,000,000 penalty. Kardashian also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.
The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by Jon A. Daniels, Alison R. Levine, and Pamela Sawhney of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, and Kerri Palen, Lisa Knoop and Victor Suthammanont of the New York Regional Office. The case was supervised by Mark R. Sylvester of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and Carolyn Welshhans.
The SEC’s statement urging caution regarding potentially unlawful celebrity-backed crypto asset offerings can be found here. SEC Chair Gensler today published a video warning investors not to make investment decisions based solely on the recommendations of a celebrity or influencer.
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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 the hacking attacks, and several others in and outside the U.S. who allegedly benefited from or participated in the scheme.
According to the SEC’s complaint, in late 2017 and early 2018, hackers accessed at least 31 U.S. retail brokerage accounts and used them to purchase the securities of Lotus Bio-Technology Development Corp. and Good Gaming, Inc. The unauthorized purchases allegedly enabled fraudsters, who already controlled large blocks of Lotus Bio-Tech and Good Gaming stock, to sell their holdings at artificially high prices and reap more than $1 million in illicit proceeds. According to the complaint, Davies Wong of British Columbia, Canada, and Glenn B. Laken of Illinois, respectively, controlled the majority of the Lotus Bio-Tech and Good Gaming stock that was sold while the hacking attacks were being carried out, and Mohamed coordinated with Wong, Laken, and others to orchestrate the attacks. The complaint also alleges that Richard Tang of British Columbia, Canada, was involved with both the Lotus Bio-Tech and Good Gaming schemes.
“This case illustrates the critical importance of cybersecurity and of our ongoing efforts to protect retail investors from cyber fraud,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “The SEC remains committed to rooting out this type of wrongdoing. Investors should also take precautions, including choosing strong passwords, using different passwords for different accounts, and using two-factor authentication when available.”
“Our complaint details a brazen and sophisticated scheme, with hackers using international accounts and dummy accountholders to hide their tracks,” said Nekia Hackworth Jones, Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office. “As this case demonstrates, the Division can uncover misconduct even when it crosses borders and is concealed behind multiple layers of obfuscation.”
The SEC’s complaint charges violations of the antifraud and beneficial ownership reporting provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and names two relief defendants who received proceeds from the hacks. The SEC seeks the return of ill-gotten gains plus interest, penalties, bars, and other equitable relief. The SEC’s investigation is continuing.
The SEC’s investigation has been conducted by Joshua Dickman and Lucy Graetz of the Atlanta Regional Office, Andrew McFall of the Washington, D.C. Office, and Patrick McCluskey of the Philadelphia Regional Office, with the assistance of Marlee Miller and Owen Granke of the SEC’s Office of International Affairs. The case is being supervised by Acting Chief of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit Carolyn Welshhans, Market Abuse Unit Chief Joseph Sansone, Justin Jeffries and Natalie Brunson of the Atlanta Regional Office, and Amy Flaherty Hartman of the Chicago Regional Office. Robert Gordon and William Hicks of the Atlanta Regional Office will lead the SEC’s litigation, supervised by M. Graham Loomis.
The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Alberta Securities Commission, the Australia Securities and Investments Commission, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Calgary Police Service, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the Mauritius Financial Services Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission, the Quebec Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, the Sûreté du Québec, the Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores de la República Dominicana, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, and the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.
To learn more about how to protect your online investment accounts from fraud, please visit the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy investor alerts webpage.
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 on behalf of Crosby’s company, Faithful Transport Services LLC (Faithful Transport). The loan application falsely inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll for Faithful Transport, inducing a larger PPP loan than Crosby could legitimately obtain. Crosby and a co-conspirator also caused the submission of a forged tax document to support the false statements in the loan application. Crosby then engaged in a series of sham transactions with various individuals to make it appear that he was paying them payroll for work at Faithful Transport when, in reality, these individuals returned the vast majority of the funds to Crosby.
Crosby was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, making a false statement to a bank, and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and making a false statement to a bank, and 20 years for money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Crosby is the 11th defendant to be convicted as part of the Justice Department’s prosecution of a $3 million, Atlanta-based PPP fraud ring. Previously, 10 other members of the scheme were charged by the Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. All other defendants pleaded guilty prior to trial. To date, authorities have recovered approximately $1.2 million of the stolen money.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Mark Morini Jr. of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) made the announcement.
The FBI Atlanta Field Office; the SBA-OIG; and the TIGTA investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Matthew Reilly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case and Trial Attorney Michael P. McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane D. Schulman for the Northern District of Georgia provided significant assistance.
Since the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in more than 95 criminal cases and has seized over $75 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Former CEO Agrees to Settle to Same Charges and Pay $1 Million
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged The Boeing Company and its former CEO, Dennis A. Muilenburg, with making materially misleading public statements following crashes of Boeing airplanes in 2018 and 2019. The crashes involved Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane and a flight control function called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). According to the SEC’s orders, after the first crash, Boeing and Muilenburg knew that MCAS posed an ongoing airplane safety issue, but nevertheless assured the public that the 737 MAX airplane was “as safe as any airplane that has ever flown the skies.” Later, following the second crash, Boeing and Muilenburg assured the public that there were no slips or gaps in the certification process with respect to MCAS, despite being aware of contrary information.
“There are no words to describe the tragic loss of life brought about by these two airplane crashes,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “In times of crisis and tragedy, it is especially important that public companies and executives provide full, fair, and truthful disclosures to the markets. The Boeing Company and its former CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, failed in this most basic obligation. They misled investors by providing assurances about the safety of the 737 MAX, despite knowing about serious safety concerns. The SEC remains committed to rooting out misconduct when public companies and their executives fail to fulfill their fundamental obligations to the investing public.”
According to the SEC’s order, one month after Lion Air Flight 610, a 737 MAX airplane, crashed in Indonesia in October 2018, Boeing issued a press release, edited and approved by Muilenburg, that selectively highlighted certain facts from an official report of the Indonesian government suggesting that pilot error and poor aircraft maintenance contributed to the crash. The press release also gave assurances of the airplane’s safety, failing to disclose that an internal safety review had determined that MCAS posed an ongoing “airplane safety issue” and that Boeing had already begun redesigning MCAS to address that issue, according to the SEC’s orders.
Approximately six weeks after the March 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, another 737 MAX, and the grounding by international regulators of the entire 737 MAX fleet, Muilenburg, though aware of information calling into question certain aspects of the certification process relating to MCAS, told analysts and reporters that “there was no surprise or gap . . . that somehow slipped through [the] certification process” for the 737 MAX and that Boeing had “gone back and confirmed again . . . that we followed exactly the steps in our design and certification processes that consistently produce safe airplanes.”
“Boeing and Muilenburg put profits over people by misleading investors about the safety of the 737 MAX all in an effort to rehabilitate Boeing’s image following two tragic accidents that resulted in the loss of 346 lives and incalculable grief to so many families,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. “But public companies and their executives must provide accurate and complete information when they make disclosures to investors, no matter the circumstances. When they don’t, we will hold them accountable, as we did here.”
The SEC’s orders against Boeing and Muilenburg find that they negligently violated the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Boeing and Muilenburg consented to cease-and-desist orders that include penalties of $200 million and $1 million, respectively. A Fair Fund will be established for the benefit of harmed investors pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Ibrahim Sajalieu Bah, Kenneth Gottlieb, Derek Schoenmann, Heather Shaffer, and Tian Wen of the New York Regional Office with assistance from Richard Hong of the Trial Unit. The case was supervised by Celeste Chase and Sanjay Wadhwa. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Los Angeles (CA) – Probably 2021 was not a year for the books for Hadari Oshri. And things aren’t looking up in 2022 either.
Last year, the American-Israeli entrepreneur lost her meritless restraining order case against me. My anti-SLAPP court win was a powerful reminder of why First Amendment Rights are celebrated, honored and protected by Americans. And as an American citizen, Oshri should have known better. But she didn’t.
“A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime” wins top LA Press Club award. The series exposes Hadari Oshri’s participation in an alleged PPE scam.
That I prevailed on my anti-SLAPP motion forced Oshri to learn the hard way. She will have to pay my hefty legal fees ($23,000). Additionally, in the past months, I’ve released the investigative series that she desperately tried to silence. And her sloppy PR efforts to deliver an online campaign aimed at clearing her name…miserably failed.
But today, I don’t want to focus so much on Oshri. Rather, I want to do some introspection.
To get this far, I had to spend the summer of 2021 fully immersed in time-consuming legal efforts to fight her frivolous restraining order. Because let’s be clear about one thing: Oshri, like every other SLAPPer, never intended to win in court. She intended to bully me into silence in the same way she used fear tactics in the past to silence her victims’ plights and grievances.
In early 2021, Oshri retained the legal services of LA-based attorney John Tamborelli in order to stop my investigative efforts. Around February 14th that year (a very symbolic date for Oshri and her high-caliber restraining order team of criminal defense attorneys), Tamborelli sent me a “cease and desist” letter, or as Oshri called it in her legal petition against me a “seance” and “disease.”
Realizing that the “seance” and “disease” strategy had failed, Tamborelli tried yet another trick: He had one of my sources “instruct” me to remove any and all media coverage that I’d posted online mentioning him, Oshri and Marc Lubaszka.
Hadari Oshri’s former attorney, John Tamborelli, tried to silence reporter Aitana Vargas’s media coverage and online complaints about the legal pressure she was enduring.
Of course, I refused to comply. But more importantly, the National Writers Union (NWU) sent Tamborelli a letter demanding that he stop all intimidation attempts towards me. And…he stopped.
If anything, I have come out of this experience understanding the many ways in which I must express my gratitude towards Hadari Oshri. She turned me into quite an expert on anti-SLAPP motions and meritless First Amendment Right cases. For three months last year, I was the anti-SLAPP motion version of the cookie monster. Like a maniac, I devoured legal cases, rulings and opinions by the CA lower courts, the Court of Appeals and the CA Supreme Court. Every case I found –even in other states or the US Supreme Court–, I read and carefully studied.
Hadari Oshri failed in her legal attempt to silence reporter Aitana Vargas. As the prevailing party on an anti-SLAPP motion, Vargas is entitled to an award of attorney’s fees.
I am, however, humble enough to admit that I had –and I still do– a lot to learn in this regard. But for all the lessons already learned, I’d like to thank you, Hadari. You’ve made me a more informed, a better and a more accomplished journalist.
Speaking of milestones…This is my first journalism award for an English-language series produced entirely on my own!
I never thought I would be talented enough or even remotely capable of this kind of achievement. But you proved me wrong: Not only can I write in English, but I can also win awards in a foreign language!
Thank you, Hadari, for making this award possible. It’s unique, one of a kind, and the refreshing icing on the cake that I and many victims will never forget.
*Since Hadari Oshri filed a meritless case against Investor News contributor Aitana Vargas and had previously declined to provide written comments or go on a recorded interview, it is our policy not to seek further comments from the entrepreneur. Oshri is always welcome to reach out and agree to the proposed interview terms. The same policy applies to her former Counsel, John Tamborelli.
**To contact the newsroom, send an email to info@investornews.io. To contact and send tips to investigative reporter Aitana Vargas, use aitana_investigations@protonmail.com. All malicious emails, phone calls and text messages are reported to law enforcement.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two North Carolina-based executives, Gregory E. Lindberg and Christopher Herwig, and their Malta-based registered investment adviser, Standard Advisory Services Limited, for defrauding clients out of more than $75 million through undisclosed transactions that benefited themselves and their companies.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from July 2017 through 2018, Lindberg and Herwig, through Standard Advisory, breached their fiduciary duties to their advisory clients by fraudulently causing them to engage in undisclosed related-party transactions that were not in the best interest of their clients. The SEC’s complaint further alleges that the defendants misappropriated more than $57 million in client funds and that Standard Advisory collected more than $21.4 million in advisory fees generated in connection with these schemes. In an attempt to conceal the fraud, Lindberg allegedly orchestrated the schemes through complex investment structures and a web of affiliate companies and allegedly used the proceeds to pay themselves or to divert the funds to Lindberg’s other businesses.
“We allege a massive fraudulent scheme, involving unique financial structures and various complex investments, orchestrated by the defendants for their own benefit over their advisory clients’ benefit,” said Osman Nawaz, Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit. “Today’s filing demonstrates that the SEC will take action to protect investors from investment advisers who attempt to evade fundamental fiduciary responsibilities.”
The SEC’s complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, charges Lindberg, Herwig, and Standard Advisory with violating the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and seeks disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, penalties, and permanent injunctions.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Kevin Wisniewski, Craig McShane, and Kristine Rodriguez and supervised by Ana D. Petrovic, of the Complex Financial Instruments Unit and the Chicago Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Alyssa Qualls and Kevin Wisniewski of the Trial Unit.
Hadari Oshri sued by Major Gloves Inc. for $225,000 for failure to deliver home test kits
A1A Management, which Oshri co-owns with Pat Seller, is also named in the lawsuit
Hadari Oshri, whose real name is Hadar Oshri, is being sued by Major Gloves Inc for $225,000 along with her many alter egos: Krista Collinsworth, Kristy Green, Michaela Lake and Haily Dahan, et al.
Her business partner, underwear model, and part-time porn producer, Pat Seller, will also be impacted by the lawsuit that mentions A1A Management. Seller also goes by the moniker “the Crypto King” and currently promotes an only-fans page called Minx Studios.
Major Gloves Inc. has sued Hadari Oshri, A1A Management and Hadar Oshri LLC for failure to deliver i-home test kits purchased by the company
Investor News was the first to break the story exposing Oshri’s and Marc Lubaszka’s (her prior business partner) links to an alleged $300mil PPE scheme involving convicted fraudster Arael Doolittle.
Oshri and Lubaszka were also linked with attempts to sell non-existent private jets and raise $30mil from investors for Lubaszka’s company, Fly Private X. The phony private jet scheme also included an up-and-coming rapper called Dylan Raw, a current NFT enthusiast, who used the title of Vice President of Fly Private X on his social media to gain clout. The singer, whose real name is Dylan Rottkov, is also linked to Lubaszka’s shady website Buy Gold Brightly, which is still online.
Hadari Oshri faces more time in court with a $225K lawsuit
The $225,000 lawsuit by Major Gloves Inc. is just another court appearance by Oshri after she and her former counsel, John Tamborelli, in 2021 tried to silence witnesses and sources willing to speak up on Oshri’s business practices.
In their extraordinary lengths to keep any information that could discredit Oshri’s many exaggerated claims and business dealings offline, Oshri and Tamborelli also threatened legal action against award-winning journalist Aitana Vargas. Tamborelli’s cease-and-desist email was met with a letter to the lawyer by the NWU advising him to stop all intimidation towards the reporter.
Neither the threats nor the cease-and-desist letter served by team Oshri on Vargas worked. And Oshri ended up filing a frivolous legal case against Vargas in June 2021 that cost the businesswoman $23,000 in damages. Oshri was seeking a permanent injunction to stop Vargas from releasing her investigative series, but the Judge ruled against the Israeli. Tamborelli, who served the cease-and-desist to Vargas and had phoned the reporter in February 2021 in an attempt to prevent the publication of the story, failed to appear or defend his long-time client and friend at the anti-SLAPP motion hearing.
During this time, Oshri –allegedly aided by Lubaszka– also sent emails containing illegal tracking beacons to this publication, to Vargas and to other sources in a failed intimidation spree under fake names that included “Michaela Lake” and “Alex Alex,” among others.
Pat Seller, the Crypto King, partners with Hadari Oshri
Pat Seller, the self anointed “Crypto King,” added Oshri as a co-owner of A1A Management. To his credit, he has a list of failed start-ups despite claims of being a “visionary,” like his partner.
The duo appear to have been working out of both a luxurious Malibu property and a downtown LA apartment. According to several online posts, Oshri was looking to temporarily move out of her Malibu beachfront address around the summer of 2021. One source indicated that she was unable to afford rent. In multiple social media posts, Seller also claimed he was living and working at the same address during this time.
The Los Angeles County has, however, been under an eviction moratorium that allows those financially impacted by COVID-19 to defer rent while staying housed. According to Twitter posts dated as recent as December 2022 and January 2023, Oshri would still be working out of Malibu.
Hadari Oshri filed incoherent, embarrassing and incriminating legal petitions
Since the onset of the pandemic, Oshri has claimed to have gained experience in highly lucrative import/export deals to the tune of millions of dollars, according to her own website. Online articles written in 2020 and 2021 by Oshri’s ghostwriter, Ryan Foland, deliver an account of a shrewd, experienced, trustworthy and professional businesswoman. These articles were also posted on Oshri’s Medium account as a way of gaining PR for herself and her business endeavors.
However, court documents written by Oshri show a very different reality. According to her, she was being harassed by such fictional characters as Pinocchio, the Real Truth Fairy and her own alter ego, Krista Collinsworth. But more importantly, in her own petitions to the court she made self-incriminating statements that implicated her in alleged identity theft related to the formation of her company Trade Safe Pro, LLC.
Court documents also show Oshri’s participation in an alleged PPE scheme and her strong desire to silence both those with knowledge of her questionable business practices and the reporter who uncovered Oshri’s and Lubaszka’s dealings.
In her incoherent court petitions, Oshri also made memorable statements, like claiming that her previous business partner, Marc Lubaszka, did some “funny business” in describing his part in stealing over $2mil in a gold scam. Oshri also went on to call Vargas “Miss Dicks” (Miss Vergas) and “My Dicks” (Mis Vergas) and fabricated widespread nonsensical theories and ill-spirited accusations against the journalist without any proof.
Oshri and her criminal defense attorneys got reprimanded by the judge at the anti-SLAPP motion hearing for the businesswoman’s confusing petition and failure to prove any of her bizarre claims.
Oshri also interrupted the hearing several times and the Judge ordered a recess so the businesswoman could collect herself. Shortly after the hearing resumed, the Judge filed in favor of the reporter.
Oshri was overheard outside the court asking someone over the phone: “Who’s gonna pay the attorneys now?”
A screenshot of Hadari Oshri’s Facebook account linking to one of her stories about supply chain and PPE that she published on her Medium account.
Hadari Oshri was sued in a Personal Injury case despite her claims to the contrary
In 2021 Oshri and Tamborelli were sued in a personal injury case claiming that she was driving her lawyer’s car and caused an accident without proper insurance.
Astonishingly, Oshri’s criminal defense attorney Veronica Barton vehemently denied the existence of this PI case during the anti-SLAPP motion hearing that the Israeli lost against Vargas and wrongly accused the reporter of having made it up. If only had Barton bothered to check her client’s legal past, she could have save herself the ensuing embarrassment…
As a matter of fact, Oshri dodged multiple attempts to be served with court documents related to the PI case, as Vargas had corroborated.
It remains to be seen whether Oshri might potentially face any jail-time if she has used the money received by Major Gloves Inc. for any unrelated business purposes as the latest suit claims, or engaged in business activities under Hadari Oshri LLC without having the correct business licenses and forms filed with the state.
Online documents show that the company Hadari Oshri LLC is in forfeited status along with several other businesses once owned by the self-professed business expert, including her defunct fashion company Xehar, clothing store Nicola Bertti and Hadari Online.
Oshri’s Trade Safe Pro was not named in the Covid-19 i-home tests suit directly. The Israeli entrepreneur formed the company in February 2021 using the personal information of her then accountant, Robert Wolf, without his consent, thus creating a claim of potential identity theft against her.
Proof of this potential identity theft was delivered by Oshri to Vargas in a email thread initiated by the Israeli demanding that Vargas stop investigating her, threatening legal action against her and directing Tamborelli to send a cease-and-desist letter in an attempt to intimidate the reporter.
Oshri’s email included a screenshot of past tense text exchanges between Wolf and Oshri regarding the use of his name in the formation of the company and demanded that she remove his name immediately. Wolf passed away on February 14th, 2022 (a symbolic date for Oshri and her team of criminal defense attorneys led by Veronica Barton) before he could file a lawsuit against the discredited businesswoman.
*This post is being updated as additional information becomes available.
Alleged Fraudulent Blockchain Scheme Spanned Multiple Countries Including U.S., Russia
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 11 individuals for their roles in creating and promoting Forsage, a fraudulent crypto pyramid and Ponzi scheme that raised more than $300 million from millions of retail investors worldwide, including in the United States. Those charged include the four founders of Forsage, who were last known to be living in Russia, the Republic of Georgia, and Indonesia, as well as three U.S.-based promoters engaged by the founders to endorse Forsage on its website and social media platforms, and several members of the so-called Crypto Crusaders—the largest promotional group for the scheme that operated in the United States from at least five different states.
According to the SEC’s complaint, in January 2020, Vladimir Okhotnikov, Jane Doe a/k/a Lola Ferrari, Mikhail Sergeev, and Sergey Maslakov launched Forsage.io, a website that allowed millions of retail investors to enter into transactions via smart contracts that operated on the Ethereum, Tron, and Binance blockchains. However, Forsage allegedly has operated as a pyramid scheme for more than two years, in which investors earned profits by recruiting others into the scheme. Forsage also allegedly used assets from new investors to pay earlier investors in a typical Ponzi structure.
Despite cease-and-desist actions against Forsage for operating as a fraud in September 2020 by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines and in March 2021 by the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, the defendants allegedly continued to promote the scheme while denying the claims in several YouTube videos and by other means.
“As the complaint alleges, Forsage is a fraudulent pyramid scheme launched on a massive scale and aggressively marketed to investors,” said Carolyn Welshhans, Acting Chief of the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit. “Fraudsters cannot circumvent the federal securities laws by focusing their schemes on smart contracts and blockchains.”
In addition to charging the four founders, the complaint, filed in United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, also charges Cheri Beth Bowen, of Pelahatchie, Miss., Ronald R. Deering, of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, Samuel D. Ellis, of Louisville, Ky., Mark F. Hamlin, of Henrico, Va., Carlos L. Martinez, of Chicago, Ill., Alisha R. Shepperd, of Dunedin, Fla., and Sarah L. Theissen, of Hartford, Wis., with violating the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC’s complaint seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement, and civil penalties.
Without admitting or denying the allegations, two of the defendants, Ellis and Theissen, agreed to settle the charges and to be permanently enjoined from future violations of the charged provisions and certain other activity. Additionally, Ellis agreed to pay disgorgement and civil penalties, and Theissen will be required to pay disgorgement and civil penalties as determined by the court. Both settlements are subject to court approval.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Liz Canizares and Pamela Sawhney of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and supervised by Amy Friedman and Ms. Welshhans. The litigation is being conducted by Patrick Costello, Christopher Carney, Ms. Canizares, and Ms. Sawhney and supervised by Olivia Choe. The Commission appreciates the assistance of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines and the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance.
A través de un comunicado, el Sindicato Nacional de Escritores (NWU) condena la corrupción periodística de Antonio García Ferreras, director de la televisora española La Sexta, por influir en las elecciones presidenciales de España usando “fake news”
New York (USA) – El Sindicato Nacional de Escritores (NWU) de EEUU condena tajantemente la manipulación informativa y la praxis antiprofesional y antidemocrática de Antonio García Ferreras, director de la cadena televisiva española La Sexta, tras la difusión en 2016 de informaciones falsas sobre el entonces candidato a la presidencia por el partido Unidas Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, semanas previas a las Elecciones Generales de España.
Grabaciones filtradas hace unos días al portal digital español Crónica Libre confirman que Ferreras autorizó la difusión de informaciones que él mismo calificó de “burdas”. Estas informaciones estaban basadas en un documento falsificado que acusaba al candidato Iglesias de tener una cuenta bancaria en un paraíso fiscal —en las Granadinas— y de haber recibido una transferencia de 272.000 dólares del gobierno de Nicolás Maduro.
El comunicado del Sindicato Nacional de Escritores de EEUU (NWU) ha desatado una ola de reacciones en las redes sociales y ha sido recogido por importantes medios españoles.
La difusión por parte de Ferreras de dichas informaciones —fake news— sitúan a los medios de comunicación masivos al servicio de la mentira y violan el derecho de la ciudadanía a la información, en particular cuando el contenido mediático tiene el potencial de influir en los resultados electorales y de acabar con nuevas formaciones políticas que desafían el statu quo.
“Yo voy con ello, pero es muy burdo”, aseveró Ferreras durante una conversación que mantuvo con el excomisario del Cuerpo Nacional de Policía española y empresario José Manuel Villarejo.
Villarejo se enfrenta a 80 años de cárcel por presunto espionaje, se le investiga por su presunta implicación en otros actos delictivos y es un célebre protagonista en España de las llamadas “cloacas del estado”.
En una segunda grabación filtrada que también dio a conocer Crónica Libre, Ferreras se jactó de haber aniquilado la carrera del político español Juan Carlos Monedero, cofundador del partido Podemos.
“Monedero a nosotros nos odia, porque nosotros fuimos los que matamos a Monedero con aquello, con la pasta. Porque, además, cuando nosotros le damos una hostia a ellos, ellos sufren de cojones”, aseguró el todavía director de La Sexta, García Ferreras.
Las acciones de Ferreras constituyen un ejemplo de corrupción mediática, denotan una falta de principios periodísticos impropia del líder de una cadena con el aparato financiero y el alcance de La Sexta, y representan un flagrante ataque al proceso electoral democrático —todo ello décadas después del fin de la dictadura franquista en un país que aún batalla con los fantasmas de aquel oscuro periodo—.
El Sindicato Nacional de Escritores (NWU) también considera antiperiodístico que Newtral, una empresa dedicada a la verificación informativa fundada en 2018 por Ana Pastor (cónyuge de Ferreras), no haya condenado con firmeza la gravedad de los hechos protagonizados por La Sexta, cadena para la cual también trabaja.
A su vez, consideramos que existe un evidente conflicto de intereses entre la misión de Newtral y la relación que su dirigente, Ana Pastor, mantiene con La Sexta —tanto a nivel profesional, como familiar—.
