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The exposé Hadari Oshri and her attorney tried to stop wins LA Press Club award

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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 motion to strike Oshri’s CHRO petition. In a hearing held on September 13, 2021, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Doreen Boxer granted Vargas’s anti-SLAPP motion and denied Oshri’s civil harassment petition for failure to sustain the applicable burden of proof. Oshri will now have to pay Vargas’s attorney’s fees for filing a frivolous case. The Israeli entrepreneur also declined to go on a recorded interview or provide statements via email. This outlet has striven to reach out to sources to ensure they have the opportunity to provide their own account of events.

Los Angeles (CA) – Aitana Vargas’s exposé “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime” last night received one of the LA Press Club’s top journalism awards at a celebrity-packed gala hosted at the Sheraton Universal Hotel that also honored Bill Whitaker’s life achievements.

Aitana Vargas at the Sheraton Universal Hotel last night. The reporter’s exposé on Hadari Oshri’s participation in an alleged joint PPE scheme with Marc Lubaszka was recognized with one of the gala’s top awards.

The judges stated that Vargas’s work is a “compelling story of intrigue and vitriol that goes down a trail through international and domestic law, individual broken dreams, and the hard-fought desire to bring a criminal to justice.”

Speaking after the gala, Vargas said that “this award is a reminder that the victims’ years-long plights and repeated calls for justice have yet to be properly addressed by the justice system.” “This is not over yet.”

Vargas’s tenacity defeated Oshri’s desire to silence the truth

Throughout 2021, Oshri led a months-long campaign aimed at removing any and all media coverage online. The entrepreneur first tried to silence one of the reporter’s sources. Then, in a desperate attempt to stop Vargas’s investigative efforts, the release of documents linking Oshri and Lubaszka to an alleged multi-million dollar PPE scheme, as well as the publication of any and all content, Oshri filed a SLAPP suit against the journalist.

Oshri’s legal efforts against the correspondent came to an abrupt end in September 2021 as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted the reporter’s anti-SLAPP motion. During the hearing, the judge called out the entrepreneur for repeatedly interrupting the court proceedings and criticized her attorneys’ failure to provide admissible evidence.

Oshri’s fruitless legal campaign will be costly, for she will have to pay the journalist’s hefty anti-SLAPP legal fees: $23,000.

Read the notice of ruling on the anti-SLAPP motion here.

Against this backdrop, the in-depth investigative series would have never been released without the tenacity of the author, who was also legally threatened and received a cease-and-desist letter from Oshri’s former attorney, John Tamborelli.

In response to Tamborelli’s 2021 legal threats, the National Writers Union (NWU) sent him a letter demanding that he stop his intimidation campaign towards the reporter.

Read here the NWU Letter.

Hadari Oshri’s former attorney, John Tamborelli, tried to silence reporter Aitana Vargas’s media coverage and her social media complaints about the legal pressure she was enduring. Tamborelli sent the journalist a cease-and-desist email and included the above provision in a settlement agreement that she was not a party to in an attempt to make her abide by his demands. The reporter refused to comply.

Hadari Oshri and Marc Lubaszka forged a partnership based on business and personal misrepresentations

The award-winning story exposes Oshri’s alleged participation in a joint PPE scheme with American broker Marc Lubaszka, who owes nearly $2M to tens of gold IRA investors across the US and has publicly admitted to doing business with Venezuela’s illegal gold mining syndicates.

The pair used Lubaszka’s private jet company, Fly Private X, to sell both nonexistent private jets and PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they ran their operations from a luxurious beachfront property located in East Malibu where they threw parties featuring high-end DJs.

Exclusive documents obtained by Vargas show that Oshri and Lubaszka’s PPE scheme was also linked to convicted COVID-19 fraudster Arael Doolittle.

In the meantime, Oshri founded Trade Safe Pro, LLC, and Lubaszka recruited rapper Dylan Raw to act as his patsy and the VP of Fly Private X. Together, broker and singer founded Buy Gold Brightly to sell gold and IRA plans.

Oshri’s empire: A legacy of business failures

For years, Oshri has misrepresented her “successful” career as a businesswoman by running a strategic online PR campaign that includes the publication of articles written by her ghost writer, Ryan Foland. To this date, she continues to misrepresent her business operations by publishing content on her website and her Medium account.

As if her legacy of demonstrated past business failures were not enough, Oshri has also lost every step of the way in 2021: She lost the anti-SLAPP court battle to Vargas; She’ll have to pay the reporter’s hefty legal fees; The investigative series Oshri tried to stop has been released; Her alleged participation in a multi-million dollar PPE scheme with Marc Lubaszka has been exposed; Two more installments on Oshri’s Xehar wreck (aka fashion fairy project) and Trade Safe Pro, LLC are in the works; And last night, Vargas’s compelling exposé received one of the night’s top LA Press Club journalism awards.

Read here the full list of winners.

*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.

RELATED COVERAGE

Read “Aitana Vargas walks red carpet at tonight’s LA Press Club awards.”

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part I): Marc Lubaszka, the ultimate white-collar conman on the run: From a Hollywood Hills mansion to Venezuela’s illegal gold mines and back.” 

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part II): Marc Lubaszka’s nonexistent private jets failed to deliver PPE amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part III): Pursuing flash money, rapper Dylan Raw partners with conman Marc Lubaszka and becomes his patsy.”

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part IV): Hadari Oshri allegedly linked to attempted $370M nonexistent PPE COVID-19 scheme.”

Read 2019 court case against Hadari Oshri exposes her dodgy, aggressive legal maneuvers.

Read Hadari Oshri’s losses mount up as she fails again to silence her victims.

Read Hadari Oshri loses anti-SLAPP court battle against journalist Aitana Vargas.

Read The Legal Bullies Club – The SLAPPers: Featuring Hadari Oshri.

Read Hadari Oshri sued for copyright infringement in 2017.

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

Read Hadari Oshri deactivates LinkedIn account following PPE exposé.

Aitana Vargas walks red carpet at tonight’s LA Press Club awards gala

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Hadari Oshri Vargas press club

“A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime” competes for top journalism award

Los Angeles (CA) – Investor News correspondent Aitana Vargas just walked the red carpet at the LA Press Club 64th Annual Awards Gala, which is being held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City tonight and honors journalism and editorial excellence across Southern California in 2021.

Aitana Vargas’s exposé on Hadari Oshri’s participation in alleged 370mil PPE fraud nominated for 64th LA Press Club Award.

The reporter is competing for one of the night’s top awards for her months-long multi-part investigative series: “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime.”

“Today I’m celebrating First Amendment rights and Hadari’s failed efforts to silence the truth, including her alleged involvement in COVID-19 schemes with Marc Lubaszka,” the award-wining journalist said from the red carpet. “I hope tonight is also a memorable moment for their many victims, some of whom have been demanding justice for several years.”

Aitana Vargas has been awarded a competitive LA Press Club grant to fund her next journalism project.

Vargas’s work exposes Hadari Oshri’s participation in alleged PPE scheme

The journalist’s special report exposes Israeli entrepreneur Hadari Oshri’s participation in an alleged joint PPE scheme with gold broker Marc Lubaszka, whose gold IRA investment company, Aurum Advisors, was investigated by the FBI about ten years ago.

In 2012, Lubaszka fled to South America as his IRA venture was going under, but he has never been charged with a crime despite his victims’ calls for justice.

Vargas’s long-form series delivers a powerful and detailed account of the Oshri-Lubaszka partnership at the onset of the pandemic and their efforts to sell some $500M worth of nonexistent PPE using the broker’s now defunct private jet company, Fly Private X. The couple’s COVID-19-related operations were also linked to convicted Texas businessman Arael Doolittle, who was ordered earlier this year to serve a 54-month sentence for PPE fraud.

During the pandemic, Oshri also used Trade Safe Pro, LLC to sell PPE on social media platforms –including Facebook– as Lubaszka partnered with Texas-based DJ and rapper Dylan Raw to open a new gold company: Buy Gold Brightly. In the meantime, Oshri and Lubaszka shared and ran their operations from a luxurious beachfront property in East Malibu.

Hadari Oshri desperately tried to stop the release of Vargas’s exposé

In June 2021, a few weeks after the release of part one of Vargas’s series, the reporter was served with court papers aimed at stopping the publication of her investigation.

But Oshri’s meritless legal effort to silence the correspondent’s work was thrown out by a Los Angeles judge in September 2021, and Oshri will have to pay Vargas’s legal fees as ordered by California’s powerful anti-SLAPP statute, which protects First Amendment Rights.

In Oshri’s non-sense petition against the award-winning correspondent, the Israeli accused the journalist of being a “desperate,” “very dangerous woman” and “a corrupted reporter” without any proof. Oshri also referred to the Spaniard as “Miss Dicks” (Miss Vergas) and “My Dicks” (Mis Vergas) and fabricated a baseless theory that didn’t fly with the court.

“Hadari’s legal case against me is a clear example of the Streisand Effect: By trying to silence her involvement in an alleged PPE scheme, she only brought more attention to it,” the reporter said.

Hadari Oshri’s attorney, John Tamborelli, intimidated Vargas into quitting her investigative series

According to court documents, during 2021, the Spaniard was pressured multiple times into quitting her investigative work. Investor News had access to a cease-and-desist email that Oshri’s former attorney, John Tamborelli, sent her in February 2021 demanding that she stop reaching out and talking to sources. The email also threatened legal action against the reporter and one of her sources did they fail to comply.

Tamborelli was following orders from Oshri, whose email featured some memorable statements to the reporter and her source:

“You (Aitana) are putting your hands in places that is not belong to you !!!!!

You (Aitana) GOT to stop !!!!!

Also you you cucumber !!”

In a second email that Oshri sent to Vargas and her source the same day, the entrepreneur stated:

“This is officially !!! Attaching my new business as an opportunity what the fuck you contacting this guy Robert 80 years old Man that is doing my taxes !!!

You are crossing all the lines

Where should I serve your lawsuit Ariana

And Qucomber !!”

The journalist didn’t reply to any emails that Oshri and Tamborelli sent that day.

Exclusive documents obtained by this outlet also show that in June 2021, Tamborelli wanted one of Vargas’s sources (Fergal Furlong) to instruct her to remove all the information related to Oshri or Tamborelli and any articles mentioning Tamborelli, Oshri and Lubaszka, including the first part of Vargas’s exposé, which gave a voice to the victims of one of Lubaszka’s prior gold schemes for which he was never prosecuted by law enforcement nearly a decade ago.

The reporter took to social media to announce that she was not a party to the settlement agreement and would not be taking down any content. About two weeks later, Oshri filed against Vargas.

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.

In response to Tamborelli’s cease-and-desist email and continued demands, the National Writers Union (NWU) sent him a letter demanding that he stop all intimidation attempts towards the female reporter.

“Hadari Oshri cornered me in every single possible way she knew how. Yet she failed,” Vargas said. “Fear tactics only work for so long, don’t they?”

Read the NWU letter here.

Read the notice of ruling on the anti-SLAPP motion here.

**This story is being updated as more information becomes available.

Read here Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV of “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime.”

Send your news tips to: aitana_investigations@protonmail.com. All emails are checked for legitimacy, malware and malicious scripts and reported to law enforcement if necessary.

Have you been SLAPPED? Contact the newsroom at info@investornews.io and share your story with us.

RELATED COVERAGE

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part I): Marc Lubaszka, the ultimate white-collar conman on the run: From a Hollywood Hills mansion to Venezuela’s illegal gold mines and back.” 

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part II): Marc Lubaszka’s nonexistent private jets failed to deliver PPE amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part III): Pursuing flash money, rapper Dylan Raw partners with conman Marc Lubaszka and becomes his patsy.”

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part IV): Hadari Oshri allegedly linked to attempted $370M nonexistent PPE COVID-19 scheme.”

Read 2019 court case against Hadari Oshri exposes her dodgy, aggressive legal maneuvers.

Read Hadari Oshri’s losses mount up as she fails again to silence her victims.

Read Hadari Oshri loses anti-SLAPP court battle against journalist Aitana Vargas.

Read The Legal Bullies Club – The SLAPPers: Featuring Hadari Oshri.

Read Hadari Oshri sued for copyright infringement in 2017.

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

Read Hadari Oshri deactivates LinkedIn account following PPE exposé.

SEC Adopts Rules to Require Electronic Filing for Investment Advisers and Institutional Investment Managers

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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted amendments to require certain documents filed by investment advisers, institutional investment managers, and certain other entities to be filed or submitted electronically. The amendments also make technical amendments to modernize Form 13F and enhance the information provided. The amendments are intended to promote efficiency, transparency, and operational resiliency by modernizing how information is filed or submitted to the Commission and disclosed to the public. Electronic filings will be more readily accessible to the public and available on websites in easily searchable formats.

“In a digital age, it is important for filers to have easy, online methods to submit information to the Commission, and where appropriate for investors to have easy, online access as well,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Electronic filing, as opposed to paper filing, makes this submission and disclosure more efficient, transparent, and operationally resilient. In light of this, these amendments benefit filers, investors, and the SEC.”

Electronic filing capabilities have helped address logistical and operational issues raised by the spread of COVID-19. Expanding electronic submission will allow the Commission and filers to navigate more effectively any future disruptive events that make the paper submission process unnecessarily burdensome, impractical, or unavailable.

With the exception of the amendments to Form 13F, the new rules and form amendments will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The amendments to Form 13F will be effective on January 3, 2023. The Commission is providing a six-month transition period to provide filers with adequate time to prepare to submit these documents electronically.

Press release distributed by the SEC.

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SEC Charges Egan-Jones Ratings Co. and CEO with Conflict of Interest Violations

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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Haverford, PA-based Egan-Jones Ratings Company, a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) registered with the Commission in certain ratings classes, with violating conflict of interest provisions. The SEC also charged the company’s founder and chief executive officer, Sean Egan, with causing certain of those violations.

The SEC’s order finds that, in 2019, Egan, who at the time headed Egan-Jones’s ratings group, became involved in business and marketing activities concerning a client and was influenced by sales and marketing considerations while participating in determining a credit rating for that client, which created a prohibited conflict of interest. The order finds that by issuing and maintaining a rating for the client under those circumstances, Egan-Jones violated the SEC’s NRSRO conflict of interest rules and, further, that Egan caused the company’s violations.

The SEC’s order also finds that, in 2018, Egan-Jones violated another conflict of interest provision by continuing to issue and maintain ratings for another client even though that client had contributed ten percent or more of the company’s net revenues during the prior fiscal year. Finally, the order finds that Egan-Jones failed to establish, maintain, and enforce policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage such conflicts of interest.

“Credit rating agencies play a vital role in assessing the credit risk of an issuer and must be vigilant in avoiding potential conflicts of interest to promote the integrity, impartiality, and quality of credit ratings,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “As the SEC’s order finds, both Egan-Jones and Sean Egan violated the securities laws related to credit rating agency conflicts of interest and now are being held accountable for their actions.”

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Egan-Jones agreed to settle the matter by paying a $1.7 million penalty and more than $146,000 in disgorgement and interest. It also committed to conduct training, retain an independent consultant to assess its policies and procedures concerning conflicts of interest, and prohibit Egan from, among other things, participating in determining or monitoring credit ratings issued or maintained by Egan-Jones or developing or approving procedures used for determining credit ratings issued or maintained by Egan-Jones.  Separately, and also without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Egan agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty to settle the SEC’s charges against him.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Greg Hillson and Avron Elbaum, and supervised by Peter Rosario and Yuri B. Zelinsky. Dean M. Conway of the Enforcement Division’s Trial Unit and staff of the SEC’s Office of Credit Ratings assisted with the investigation.

Press release distributed by the SEC.

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SEC Charges Firm and Five Brokers with Violations of Reg BI

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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 to as Regulation Best Interest or Reg BI) when they recommended and sold an unrated, high-risk debt security known as L Bonds to retirees and other retail investors. From July 2020 through April 2021, Western sold an aggregate of $13.3 million of L Bonds.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that, between July 2020 and April 2021, Western and the brokers recommended and sold L Bonds to retail customers, many of whom were on fixed incomes and had moderate risk tolerances, despite the issuer, GWG Holdings, Inc., stating the L bonds were high risk, illiquid, and only suitable for customers with substantial financial resources. The defendants allegedly failed to comply with Reg BI’s “Care Obligation” both because they did not exercise reasonable diligence, care, and skill to understand the risks, rewards, and costs associated with L Bonds, and also because they recommended L Bonds to at least seven particular customers without a reasonable basis to believe the bonds were in their customers’ best interests. The complaint also alleges Western failed to comply with Reg BI’s “Compliance Obligation” because it did not adequately establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with Reg BI.

“Reg BI is clear: broker-dealers must act in the best interest of their customers,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “When they fail to do so, as we allege happened here, they put retail investors at risk and we’ll hold them accountable.”

“Reg BI is an essential tool for the protection of the best interests of retail investors,” said Regional Director, Daniel R. Gregus. “Protecting retail investors is one of the fundamental duties of the SEC, and a top priority of the Chicago Regional Office.”

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jonathan Epstein, Scott Tandy, Ariella Guardi, and Josh Wagoner and was supervised by C.J. Kerstetter and Paul Montoya, all from the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Ariella Guardi.  EXAMS staff from the Chicago Regional Office conducted the examination that led to the investigation. The examination team included Stephen Bilezikjian, Craig Carlson, Tom Meier, Joseph Tholl, and Mike Wells.

Press release distributed by the SEC.

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Former employee at Penn Interactive Ventures charged with insider trading

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Software Engineer Traded, Tipped Friend of Company’s Acquisition Plans

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against David Roda, a former software engineer at Penn National Gaming’s subsidiary Penn Interactive Ventures, in connection with the parent company’s $2 billion acquisition of Toronto-based Score Media and Gaming, Inc.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in Philadelphia, alleges that, while employed at Penn Interactive, which provides online and mobile gambling experiences for Penn National, Roda was given confidential information about Penn National’s interest in acquiring Score Media along with admonitions not to trade on that information. In breach of his duties, Roda purchased 500 out-of-the-money call options on Score Media in the weeks and days leading up to the announcement of the acquisition. Additionally, Roda tipped his longtime friend, Andrew Larkin, also charged by the SEC, who then purchased 375 Score Media shares. According to the SEC’s complaint, Score Media’s stock price increased nearly 80 percent after Penn National and Score Media publicly announced their deal, following which Roda and Larkin sold their holdings for unlawful profits of $560,762 and $5,602, respectively.

“As we allege in our complaint, Roda was entrusted by his employer with critical, market-moving information, and he betrayed that trust by using the information to trade and also tip his friend so they could both profit,” said Scott A. Thompson, Co-Acting Regional Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “When employees like Roda misappropriate and trade on confidential information, it erodes market confidence. The SEC remains committed to finding, investigating, and charging those who engage in insider trading.”

The SEC’s complaint charges Roda and Larkin, both of Philadelphia, with violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws. Roda has agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating those provisions and has agreed to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty to be determined by the Court at a later date. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Larkin has agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws and to pay more than $11,000 in disgorgement and penalties. The settlements are subject to Court approval.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania today announced criminal charges against Roda.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Norman P. Ostrove with assistance from John S. Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center. It was supervised by Scott A. Thompson of the Philadelphia Regional Office and Julia C. Green and Joseph G. Sansone of the Market Abuse Unit. The litigation will be led by Gregory Bockin. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Press release distributed by the SEC.

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Entrepreneur Convicted for $4.1 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud

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A federal jury in Detroit convicted a Michigan man today for a wire fraud and money laundering scheme to obtain more than $4.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans 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, Johnny Ho, 41, of Novi, engaged in a conspiracy to submit falsified PPP and EIDL loan applications in order to obtain COVID-19 relief funds that he was not entitled to receive. The evidence showed that Ho, who owned Diva Nails & Spa III LLC, located in Northville, submitted inflated payroll information, and otherwise falsified loan application information. Ho personally submitted two fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications seeking nearly $350,000 in funds that were intended to help small businesses and their employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, Ho and his co-conspirators submitted 29 different fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications on behalf of 16 businesses totaling over $4.1 million.

Ho was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 27 and faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud counts, and up to 10 years in prison on the money laundering counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan; Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Sharon Johnson of the SBA-Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the SBA-OIG.

Trial Attorney Patrick J. Suter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Particka for the Eastern District of Michigan are prosecuting the case.

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.

Press release distributed by the DOJ.

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Synchronoss Technologies and senior employees charged with accounting-related misconduct

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SEC Charges New Jersey Software Company and Senior Employees with Accounting-Related Misconduct

Synchronoss Technologies to Pay $12.5 Million to Settle Charges, Former CEO to Reimburse Company

Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Bridgewater, NJ-based Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. and seven senior employees, including the former CFO, in connection with their roles related to long-running accounting improprieties that ran from 2013 to 2017. In addition, the company’s founder and former CEO, Stephen Waldis, while not charged with misconduct, agreed to reimburse the company for more than $1.3 million in stock sale profits and bonuses as well as to return previously granted shares of company stock pursuant to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).

The SEC filed a complaint in federal district court in Manhattan against former CFO Karen Rosenberger and former Controller Joanna Lanni. Among other things, the SEC’s complaint alleges that Rosenberger engaged in fraud through her role in improperly recognizing revenue on multiple transactions and that she also misled Synchronoss’s auditor about multiple transactions. The SEC alleges Lanni was involved in improper accounting for one transaction.

“Investors are entitled to rely on financial statements that are free of accounting improprieties, and when an issuer and its executives and employees engage in accounting gimmicks, we will use every available tool, including significant corporate penalties and individual accountability, to address such misconduct,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Today’s action should also put public company executives on notice that even when they are not charged with having a role in the misconduct at issue, we will still pursue clawbacks of compensation under SOX 304 to ensure they do not financially benefit from their company’s improper accounting.”

In a July 2018 SEC filing, Synchronoss, a technology company that primarily provides products, software, and services to telecommunications companies, announced a restatement of its audited financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016 and restated selected financial data for the fiscal years ended 2013 and 2014 totaling approximately $190 million in revenues. Synchronoss acknowledged that during this period it had accounted for numerous transactions improperly and thus filed with the Commission materially misleading financial statements along with having material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting.

As alleged in the various charging documents filed today, Synchronoss’s improper accounting primarily concerned three categories of transactions: (1) transactions for which there was not persuasive evidence of an arrangement; (2) acquisitions/divestitures in which Synchronoss recognized revenue on license agreements rather than netting those purported amounts against the purchase prices; and (3) license/hosting transactions, in which it improperly recognized revenue upfront, instead of ratably over the term of the multi-year arrangement. In addition, the SEC alleged that certain Synchronoss employees entered into “side letter” arrangements, concealing facts indicating that the revenue that Synchronoss recognized upfront was in fact contingent on future events. The impact of the improper accounting was material and in many instances allowed the company to meet earnings targets.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Synchronoss agreed to cease and desist from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and other provisions of the securities laws, and to pay a civil penalty of $12.5 million. The following parties also agreed to settle:

  • Ronald Prague, the company’s former general counsel, settled charges stemming from his involvement, along with others, in misleading the company’s auditors regarding two transactions and to pay a civil penalty of $25,000 and to be suspended from appearing and practicing before the SEC as an attorney for 18 months; and
  • Clayton “Charlie” Thomas, Marc Bandini, Daniel Ives, former senior employees of the company, along with current employee, John Murdock, settled charges from their participation in at least one side letter agreement that concealed the revenue that Synchronoss recognized upfront was in fact contingent on future events and to pay civil penalties ranging from $15,000 to $90,000.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by James Burt IV, Kenneth Gottlieb, Theresa Gue, Desiree Marmita, Lindsay S. Moilanen, and Richard Primoff, and supervised by Lara S. Mehraban and Sheldon Pollock. The investigative team appreciates the assistance of Eduardo Martinez of the Office of Market Intelligence. The litigation against Rosenberger and Lanni will be led by Ms. Gue, Ms. Moilanen, and Mr. Primoff under the supervision of Mr. Pollock. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Press release distributed by the SEC.

Featured image: by PeterThoeny is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Nominan la serie de investigación de Aitana Vargas sobre el presunto entramado fraudulento de Hadari Oshri

By
Editor
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Nominan la serie de investigación de Aitana Vargas que destapa el presunto entramado fraudulento de Hadari Oshri

Los Ángeles (CA) – En junio de 2021, la empresaria israelí Hadari Oshri pidió una orden de alejamiento contra la corresponsal española Aitana Vargas. Su objetivo era frenar en seco e impedir cualquier cobertura mediática de la periodista, cuya serie de investigación distribuida en este medio destapa un presunto entramado corporativo fraudulento en el que Oshri y Marc Lubaszka estarían implicados y a través del cual habrían tratado de vender equipamiento de protección personal (PPE en inglés) por más de 370 millones de dólares y del cual carecían.

El día que Oshri presentó la querella mordaza, no debió medir bien sus acciones y, en septiembre de 2021, acabó sucumbiendo al sistema judicial californiano, que protege celosamente la Primera Enmienda de la Constitución Estadounidense y custodia la libertad de expresión, incluyendo el ejercicio periodístico, en particular toda información difundida en “interés público” (anti-SLAPP en inglés).

La guinda al pastel la colocó hace unos días el Club de Prensa de Los Ángeles, que nominó el trabajo de la reportera a un premio y reconfirmó por qué la serie de Vargas merece estar en la palestra pública.

Hadari Oshri y el Efecto Streisand

En 2021, la jugada judicial le salió tan mal a Oshri que, además de ser desestimada, la empresaria está obligada a pagar todos los gastos legales de la periodista madrileña. La factura, según documentos judiciales, asciende a más de 23.000 dólares.

Pero las acciones de Oshri acarrean implicaciones de mayor envergadura. Aunque la israelí lograra posponer la publicación de la cobertura mediática durante tres meses (que ya de por sí no debiera haber ocurrido), su modus operandi es un ejemplo idílico del llamado Efecto Streisand: Cuando un individuo trata de silenciar o encubrir un hecho, logra el objetivo contrario, no sólo generar mayor interés sino también una mayor cobertura mediática.

La vergonzosa denuncia de Hadari Oshri con acusaciones incomprensibles, indemostrables y bochornosas contra la periodista

Durante la vista, la jueza recalcó que la declaración jurada que Oshri presentó el 22 de junio de 2021 contra la periodista “no era clara”. De hecho, la magistrada le recriminó a los abogados de la empresaria que ni siquiera habían “incluído pruebas” y que, de haberlo hecho, éstas “carecían de fundamento” y eran inadmisibles.

En su denuncia escrita, Oshri se cubrió de gloria y le dedicó todo tipo de perlas a la galardonada periodista, incluyendo calificativos como “Mis Vergas” y “Señorita Vergas”. También la acusó de ser una “mujer muy peligrosa”, “desesperada” y una “reportera corrupta” sin ninguna prueba, e incluso identificó a Vargas como un miembro de la inexistente raza “española”. Pero las acusaciones de Oshri también incluyeron otras declaraciones incomprensibles y memorables como:

“(Vargas) está cavando en lugares que no están aquí ¡¡ no es AUTÉNTICA, NO ES EL FBI NI LA CIA, que puede perseguirme así por todas mis cuentas en las redes sociales, perseguir mis artículos en las redes sociales, y contactar con todos los implicados ¡¡¡”

“Mis Vergas es tan peligrosa, que está hablando de la situación públicamente en aquí su FB, diciendo que ella es un SLAPP y que la ley la protege, Mis Vargas no es el FBI y no es la CIA, sus historias sobre mí son mentira, y no tiene motivo para contactar con nadie en mi red”.

“Aitaina Vergas es una periodista corrupta, no es auténtica, HAY QUE PARARLA YA!!!”

“Un vistazo rápido a su post reciente en su página de Facebook es una evasión para aquí proceso de pensamiento y aquí urgencia”.

“Mi abogado le envió una sesión de espiritismo y desistir, y ella siguió”.

“¡Deja de escribir sobre mí y contactar con mi red! ¡Suspensión de su licencia de periodista para que no pueda hacerle esto a nadie más!”

Hadari Oshri pidió medidas cautelares contra la periodista porque ésta se negó a retirar su serie de investigación

Court documents show that Hadari Oshri instructed her attorney, John Tamborelli, to silence news reporter Aitana Vargas.

Documentos judiciales –entre otros– demuestran que, desde febrero de 2021, la periodista ha estado sometida a constantes presiones legales dirigidas a impedir la publicación de su serie de investigación, cuya primera entrega se difundió el 30 de mayo de 2021.

Vargas estaba a punto de publicar la segunda parte de su serie de investigación –en la que lleva meses trabajando y que implica a Oshri en un entramado dedicado a la venta de equipamiento de protección médico (PPE en inglés) junto a Marc Lubaszka– cuando Oshri emprendió acciones legales contra la periodista a finales de junio de 2021.

El exabogado de Hadari Oshri, John Tamborelli, presionó a la periodista para que cesara cualquier cobertura mediática

Antes de que Oshri solicitara medidas cautelares ante un juzgado de Los Ángeles, Vargas ya había reiterado en las redes sociales que no renunciaría a su investigación como resultado de la presión que Oshri y su anterior abogado, John Tamborelli, estaban ejerciendo sobre ella.

La periodista se negó a acatar las exigencias legales de Tamborelli, las cuales éste también incorporó en un acuerdo extrajudicial que mencionaba a Vargas y del que ésta ni formaba parte ni había firmado. En dicho acuerdo, el abogado de Oshri exigía a una de las fuentes de la periodista que ésta retirara cualquier artículo que mencionara al letrado (Tamborelli), a Oshri o a 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.

A finales de junio de 2021, el Sindicato Nacional de Escritores (NWU en inglés) le envió una carta a Tamborelli exigiéndole que cesara todo intento de intimidación hacia la corresponsal.

“El NWU se toma cualquier intento por silenciar o amenazar a un periodista, especialmente a una mujer, de forma muy seria”, decía la carta. “También nos gustaría recalcar que, aunque cualquier fuente confidencial pueda retractarse en cualquier momento, incluso bajo coacción, ésta no tiene un derecho legal para exigir la retirada de un artículo. Te pedimos que ceses cualquier acto de intimidación contra nuestro miembro”.

Hadari Oshri cuenta con varias querellas legales

La empresaria israelí se ha enfrentado a varios procesos legales en el pasado, y algunos exsocios o antiguos trabajadores que han obtenido sentencias contra ella aún están tratando de recaudar sus respectivas indemnizaciones.

En 2020, Oshri y Tamborelli se enfrentaron a una querella vinculada a un accidente de tráfico ocurrido en Los Ángeles. En la audiencia contra Vargas, los abogados de Oshri negaron la existencia de dicha querella a pesar de estar judicialmente documentada.

En la actualidad, Oshri es la directora ejecutiva de Trade Safe Pro y de A1A Management. Al frente de esta última compañía también está el exmodelo Patrick Seller. Hasta 2019, Oshri fue la directora ejecutiva de Xehar, Inc., una compañía de modelos de talla grande (o “hadas de la moda”) que naufragó y se fue a pique en 2018.

Screenshot of a promotional video of Xehar University, one of Hadari Oshri’s many defunct business projects.

Al inicio de la pandemia, Oshri se asoció con Marc Lubaszka, un empresario que está acusado de estafar dos millones de dólares a decenas de personas que invirtieron en sus planes de pensión y que ha sido investigado por el FBI. Lubaszka es el presidente de la compañía de jets privados Fly Private X, cuya página web se encuentra “en construcción” desde que Vargas publicó la primera entrega de su serie de investigación. En los últimos meses, Lubaszka ha reanudado la venta de oro a través de Buy Gold Brightly.

La corresponsal española está representada por Michael Creamer, con oficinas en el condado de Orange.

Desde julio de 2021, Oshri está representada por Veronica Barton y Paul Adkins, con oficinas en los condados de Los Ángeles y Orange.

**Esta historia se va actualizando conforme se recibe información adicional. Last update: March 20, 2022.

***Investor News provides on demand Spanish-language content to readers. Please contact the newsroom if you’d like to read specific stories in Spanish, and we’ll do our best to accomodate your needs promptly. 

Have you been SLAPPED? Contact the newsroom at info@investornews.io and share your story with us.

Send your news tips to: aitana_investigations@protonmail.com. All emails are checked for legitimacy, malware and malicious scripts and reported to law enforcement if necessary.

RELATED COVERAGE

Read Aitana Vargas’s exposé on Hadari Oshri nominated for journalism award.

Read 2019 court case against Hadari Oshri exposes her dodgy, aggressive legal maneuvers.

Read Hadari Oshri sued for copyright infringement in 2017.

Read Hadari Oshri’s losses mount up as she fails again to silence her victims.

Read The Legal Bullies Club – The SLAPPers: Featuring Hadari Oshri.

Read Hadari Oshri loses anti-SLAPP court battle against journalist Aitana Vargas.

Read Hadari Oshri deactivates LinkedIn account following PPE exposé.

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part I): Marc Lubaszka, the ultimate white-collar conman on the run: From a Hollywood Hills mansion to Venezuela’s illegal gold mines and back.” 

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part II): Marc Lubaszka’s nonexistent private jets failed to deliver PPE amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part III): Pursuing flash money, rapper Dylan Raw partners with conman Marc Lubaszka and becomes his patsy.”

Read “A Special Report: The Harrowing Impunity of White-Collar Crime (Part IV): Hadari Oshri allegedly linked to attempted $370M nonexistent PPE COVID-19 scheme.”

SCWorx Corp. and former CEO misled investors about COVID-19 test kits

By
Administrator
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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged New York-based SCWorx Corp. and its former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Marc S. Schessel, with making false and misleading statements about SCWorx’s plans to distribute COVID-19 rapid test kits in April 2020. SCWorx has agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and will pay a $125,000 civil penalty.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that, with SCWorx struggling financially, Schessel and SCWorx issued a press release on April 13, 2020, falsely stating that SCWorx had a “committed purchase order” from a purported buyer to purchase two million COVID-19 rapid test kits. The press release further stated that the purchase order included a “provision for additional weekly orders of 2 million units for 23 weeks, valued at $35M [million] per week.” Following the issuance of the press release, SCWorx’s stock price surged 425% from the prior trading day on volume of 96.2 million shares, which was more than 900 times the prior three-month average daily volume.

The SEC alleges that Schessel and SCWorx issued this press release despite having neither a legitimate supplier of COVID-19 test kits nor an executed purchase agreement with a buyer. The complaint further alleges that Schessel and SCWorx publicly repeated the false and misleading statements about the distribution of COVID-19 rapid test kits over the course of April 2020.

At the time, the SEC ordered that trading be suspended temporarily in the securities of SCWorx between April 21, 2020, and May 5, 2020, because of questions and concerns regarding the adequacy and accuracy of publicly available information in the marketplace concerning SCWorx.

“We allege that the defendants engaged in an age-old fraud—lying about their business prospects—to capitalize opportunistically on the COVID pandemic,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “As the challenges from the pandemic continue, investors should be vigilant about COVID-related claims. The SEC will continue to root out fraud and prosecute those who attempt to use the surge of uncertainty from the pandemic to defraud the investing public.”

“As alleged in our complaint, Schessel and SCWorx repeatedly made false representations to the investing public about the distribution of COVID-19 rapid test kits at a time when the need for truthful disclosures was especially critical,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Today’s filing is a testament to the resilience and dedication of the SEC staff who during the height of the pandemic uncovered the alleged fraud and expeditiously suspended trading in the securities of SCWorx soon after the first alleged misstatement.”

The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in New Jersey, charges Schessel and SCWorx with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC’s complaint seeks from both defendants permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. The complaint also seeks an officer and director bar against Schessel. Without admitting or denying the allegations, SCWorx has agreed to a settlement, subject to court approval, that includes permanent injunctions, the payment of a $125,000 penalty, and disgorgement of $471,000 with prejudgment interest of $32,761.56. SCWorx is expected to satisfy its obligation to pay the disgorgement and prejudgment interest by contributing stock, valued at $600,000 at the time of issuance, to harmed investors in a private class action settlement in Yannes v. SCWorx Corp., et al., 1:20-cv-03349 (S.D.N.Y.).

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division today announced criminal charges against Schessel.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Michael Brennan, with assistance from Robert Nesbitt, Howard Kaplan, Sachin Verma, and Peter Rosario, and supervised by Kevin Guerrero and Jennifer S. Leete. The litigation will be led by James Connor under the supervision of Olivia Choe. The SEC appreciates the assistance of Nasdaq’s Enforcement Department.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an alert urging investors to look out for false and misleading claims about purported COVID-19 related products.

To learn more about how the SEC can help you avoid scams, please visit: https://www.sec.gov/Protecting-You.

Press release distributed by the SEC.

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