South Carolina Man Convicted of COVID-19 Relief Fraud

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September 24, 2022

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.

Press release from the DOJ.

Boeing to Pay $200 Million to Settle SEC Charges that it Misled Investors about the 737 MAX

By

Administrator

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September 23, 2022

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.

Press release by SEC.

Featured image: Jetstar Airways is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Hadari Oshri’s meritless legal plan and sloppy PR campaign backfired

By

Aitana Vargas

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September 18, 2022

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.

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.

*See Minute Order on Anti-SLAPP motion against Hadari Oshri.

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.

*Read here the NWU Letter to John Tamborelli.

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.

I never would have made it this far without your invaluable contributions. As a matter of fact, two weekends ago, I was presented with an LA Press Club award for my investigative series exposing your participation in an alleged multi-million dollar PPE scheme with Marc Lubaszka.

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.

Cheers!

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.

First Published on: Jul 7, 2022 at 21:53

RELATED COVERAGE

Read “The exposé that Hadari Oshri and her attorney tried to stop wins LA Press Club award.”

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.

SEC Charges Advisory Firm and Executives with Devising an Elaborate Scheme to Defraud Clients out of More Than $75 Million

By

Administrator

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August 31, 2022

funds dollar money investment — "3D Emergency Fund" by ccPixs.com is marked with CC BY 2.0.

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.

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Press release by the SEC.

Featured image: by ccPixs.com is marked with CC BY 2.0.

Hadari Oshri and Patrick Seller sued for $225K for non-delivery of COVID-19 i-home test kits

By

Editor

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August 13, 2022

Hadari Oshri sued by Major Gloves Inc. for $225K for failure to deliver i-home test kits

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. CA’s powerful anti-SLAPP statute demands that the prevailing defendant be granted attorney’s fees for filing a frivolous case. The Israeli entrepreneur also declined to go on a recorded interview or provide statements via email.

A1A Management, which Oshri co-owns with Pat Seller, is also named in the lawsuit

As the world was coming out of the pandemic in 2022, Hadari Oshri and her business partner, underwear model Pat Seller, were sued by Major Gloves Inc. for $225,000 for failure to deliver i-home test kits. The lawsuit mentioned A1A Management, a company registered in Montana, showing Seller and Oshri as principals.

The lawsuit would have been just another court appearance by Oshri if it were not for the fact that the plaintiff filed a request for dismissal after the court rejected entry of default in August 2022.

The lawsuit came after she and her former counsel, John Tamborelli, tried to silence witnesses and sources willing to speak up on Oshri’s business practices in 2021.

In their great lengths to keep any information that could discredit Oshri’s business operations offline, Oshri and Tamborelli threatened legal action against award-winning journalist Aitana Vargas. In February 2021, Tamborelli phoned the reporter in an attempt to prevent the publication of the story. He later sent a cease-and-desist email that was met with a letter by the NWU advising him to stop all intimidation towards the reporter, who went on to win a top LA Press Club award for her coverage.

In her quest to stop all media coverage, in June 2021, Oshri filed and lost a frivolous SLAPP case against Vargas. Oshri is now responsible for paying the reporter’s hefty attorneys’ fees. Tamborelli failed to appear or defend his long-time client and friend at the anti-SLAPP motion hearing.

During this time, Vargas, this publication, and at least one source received emails containing illegal tracking beacons under fake names that included “Michaela Lake” and “Alex Alex,” among others.

Investor News was the first to expose 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 alleged attempts to sell non-existent private jets and raise $30mil from investors for Lubaszka’s company, Fly Private X. The phony private jet company also included an up-and-coming rapper called Dylan Raw, a current NFT enthusiast, who possibly 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, a company registered in Montana in February 2021. Seller replaced Raw as the listed principal a day after it was registered. The company was canceled in December 2022.

Pat Seller, the Crypto King, partners with Hadari Oshri

Pat Seller, the self-anointed “Crypto King” and “visionary,” and Oshri are both listed as co-owners of A1A Management.

The duo appears to have been working out of both a luxurious Malibu property and a downtown LA apartment, as shown by company registration records and online posts. In multiple social media posts, Seller claimed he was living and working at the Malibu address during this time.

Online posts also show Oshri was looking to temporarily move out of her Malibu beachfront rental around the summer of 2021. One source indicated that she was unable to afford rent and that she frequently referred to him as “Pinocchio.”

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 potentially incriminating legal petitions

Since the onset of the pandemic, Oshri has claimed she 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 court statements, she was being harassed by Pinocchio, the Real Truth Fairy, and Krista Collinsworth, Lubaszka’s imaginary assistant. But more importantly, in her own petitions to the court, she made potentially self-incriminating statements that could implicate her in alleged identity theft related to the formation of her company, Trade Safe Pro, LLC, in FL.

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 alleged dealings.

In her incoherent court petitions, Oshri also made memorable statements, like claiming that her previous business partner, Lubaszka, did some “funny business” in describing his part in an alleged $2mil gold scam. She also called Vargas “Miss Dicks” (Miss Vergas) and “My Dicks” (Mis Vergas).

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. Her defense team did not even bother filing a declaration or authenticated evidence in their anti-SLAPP opposition, bound to become a classic in how to lose an anti-SLAPP case.

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?”

Hadari Oshri Online — 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 the PI case during the anti-SLAPP motion hearing and wrongly accused the reporter of having made it up. If only Barton had bothered to check her client’s legal past, she could have saved 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.

A convoluted history of businesses

Online documents show that the company Hadar 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.

One source claims that Oshri allegedly engaged in business activities under Hadar Oshri LLC without having the correct business licenses and forms filed with the state.

Oshri’s Trade Safe Pro was not named in the COVID-19 i-home tests suit directly. But how the company was created in February 2021 in FL raises questions about potential identity theft impacting Oshri’s then-accountant, Robert Wolf.

In a 2021 email Oshri sent to Vargas, the entrepreneur attached a screenshot of past tense text exchanges between the entrepreneur and Wolf. In the screenshot, Wolf stated Oshri lacked consent to use his name and demanded its immediate removal from company registration documents and social media accounts.

In Oshri’s email to Vargas, she also demanded that the reporter stop investigating her, threatened legal action against her, and directed Tamborelli to send a cease-and-desist letter in an attempt to intimidate her.

Wolf passed away on February 14th, 2022 (a symbolic date for Oshri and her team of criminal defense attorneys led by Veronica Barton).

Company registration records show that Oshri’s business partner, Seller, registered Trade Safe Pro in Montana on February 25, 2021, and it was cancelled in December 2022.

This post is being updated as additional information becomes available. This story was last updated in 2026 to reflect that: Patrick Seller replaced Dylan Rottkov as the listed officer of Buy Gold Brightly on February 5, 2021; the gold company’s site is no longer online; Seller registered Trade Safe Pro in Montana on February 25, 2021, and it was cancelled in December 2022; Oshri’s criminal attorneys did not file a declaration or authenticated evidence in their anti-SLAPP response; the plaintiff in the lawsuit against Oshri, Seller, and A1A Management filed a request for dismissal after the court rejected entry of default in August 2022.* The story has also been edited for clarity.

**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 send tips to news correspondent Aitana Vargas, use aitana_investigations@protonmail.com. All malicious emails, phone calls and text messages are reported to law enforcement.*

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

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

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

Read Hadari Oshri sued for copyright infringement in 2017.

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.”

SEC Charges Eleven Individuals in $300 Million Crypto Pyramid Scheme

By

Administrator

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August 2, 2022

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.

Foreign Defendants Last known residence

Vladimir Okhotnikov Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia

Jane Doe a/k/a Lola Ferrari Bali, Indonesia

Mikail Sergeev Moscow, Russia

Sergey Maslakov Moscow, Russia

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Press release distributed by the SEC.

La cadena española La Sexta TV difundió ‘fake news’ para influir en las elecciones presidenciales de 2016

By

Administrator

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July 22, 2022

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—.

Comunicado de Prensa distribuido por el NWU.

‘My Big Coin’ founder convicted of $6M cryptocurrency fraud scheme

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July 22, 2022

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Defendant Defrauded Investors of Over $6 Million

A federal jury convicted a New York man this week in connection with a scheme to defraud investors by marketing and selling fraudulent virtual currency.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Randall Crater, 51, of East Hampton, founded My Big Coin Pay Inc. (My Big Coin), a purported cryptocurrency and virtual payment services company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, and offered virtual payment services through a fraudulent digital currency, “My Big Coins,” which he marketed to investors between 2014 and 2017 using misrepresentations about the nature and value of Coins. Crater and his associates falsely claimed that Coins was a fully functioning cryptocurrency backed by $300 million in gold, oil and other valuable assets. Crater also falsely told investors that My Big Coin had a partnership with MasterCard and that Coins could readily be exchanged for government-backed paper currency or other virtual currencies. Crater promulgated these misrepresentations through social media, the internet, email and text messages.

In reality, Coins were not backed by gold or other valuable assets, did not have a partnership with MasterCard and were not readily transferable. Over the course of the scheme, Crater misappropriated over $6 million of investor funds for his own personal gain, including spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on antiques, artwork and jewelry.

In January 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced commodity fraud charges against Crater and My Big Coin Pay Inc. The CFTC also filed civil charges against the Chief Executive Officer of My Big Coin, John Roche, and two of Crater’s associates Mark Gillespie and Michael Kruger.

Crater was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison for each count, and three counts of money laundering, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison for each count. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 27. 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 Rachael Rollins for the District of Massachusetts, Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta of the FBI’s Boston Field Office and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) made the announcement.

The FBI, USPIS, and CFTC investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Babasijibomi Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the case.

Press release distributed by the DOJ.

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Former Coinbase employee charged with insider trading scheme

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July 21, 2022

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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against a former Coinbase product manager, his brother, and his friend for perpetrating a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding certain crypto assets that would be made available for trading on the Coinbase platform.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that, while employed at Coinbase, Ishan Wahi helped to coordinate the platform’s public listing announcements that included what crypto assets or tokens would be made available for trading.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Coinbase treated such information as confidential and warned its employees not to trade on the basis of, or tip others with, that information. However, from at least June 2021 to April 2022, in breach of his duties, Ishan repeatedly tipped the timing and content of upcoming listing announcements to his brother, Nikhil Wahi, and his friend, Sameer Ramani. Ahead of those announcements, which usually resulted in an increase in the assets’ prices, Nikhil Wahi and Ramani allegedly purchased at least 25 crypto assets, at least nine of which were securities, and then typically sold them shortly after the announcements for a profit. The long-running insider trading scheme generated illicit profits totaling more than $1.1 million.

“We are not concerned with labels, but rather the economic realities of an offering,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “In this case, those realities affirm that a number of the crypto assets at issue were securities, and, as alleged, the defendants engaged in typical insider trading ahead of their listing on Coinbase. Rest assured, we’ll continue to ensure a level playing field for investors, regardless of the label placed on the securities involved.”

“In nearly a year, the defendants collectively earned over $1.1 million in illegal profits by engaging in an alleged insider trading scheme that repeatedly used material, nonpublic information to trade ahead of Coinbase listing announcements,” said Carolyn M. Welshhans, Acting Chief of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit. “As today’s case demonstrates, whether in equities, options, crypto assets, or other securities, we will vindicate our mission by identifying and combatting insider trading in securities wherever we see it.”

The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in Seattle, Washington, charges Ishan Wahi, Nikhil Wahi, and Ramani with violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws and seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against all three individuals.

The SEC’s investigation, which is ongoing, was conducted by Michael Brennan, Jennie B. Krasner, and Gregory Padgett, with assistance from Patrick McCluskey and Donald Battle. The case was supervised by Paul Kim, Joseph Sansone, Chief of the Market Abuse Unit, and Ms. Welshhans. The litigation will be led by Daniel Maher and Peter Lallas and supervised by Olivia Choe. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.

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Press release distributed by the SEC.

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Tampa-based health insurance distributor and its former CEO accused of investment & consumer misrepresentation

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July 21, 2022

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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission this week announced charges against Health Insurance Innovations (HII) and its former CEO Gavin Southwell for concealing extensive consumer complaints about short-term and limited health insurance products HII offered. HII has since changed its name to Benefytt Technologies and become a private company.

According to the SEC’s order, from March 2017 through March 2020, HII and Southwell falsely told investors that HII held its insurance distributors to high compliance standards, which prohibited distributors from making misrepresentations to consumers about health insurance products offered by HII. HII and Southwell also told investors in earnings calls and investor presentations that HII’s consumer satisfaction was 99.99 percent and state insurance regulators received very few consumer complaints regarding HII. In reality, HII tracked tens of thousands of dissatisfied consumers who complained that HII’s distributors made misrepresentations to sell the health insurance products, charged consumers for products they did not authorize, and failed to cancel plans upon consumers’ requests. The order finds that the products provided minimal health benefits, did not cover pre-existing conditions, prescriptions, and hospital care, and were not considered qualifying health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, leaving many consumers with unpaid medical bills when they sought treatment.

“Access to healthcare and consumer satisfaction are increasingly important considerations to investors,” said Stacy Bogert, Associate Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “It is critical that disclosures are truthful and complete, and we will hold companies and their executives accountable for misleading investors about these factors.”

The SEC’s order finds HII and Southwell violated certain antifraud and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws and Southwell profited by selling HII stock when it was inflated as a result of the misconduct. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings and allegations, HII and Southwell agreed to a cease and desist order, HII agreed to pay an $11 million penalty, and Southwell agreed to pay more than $1 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest to settle the charges.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by John McNulty, Gosia Spangenberg, and Avron Elbaum with assistance from SEC trial counsel John Timmer, Nicholas Margida, and Olivia Choe. The case was supervised by Lisa Deitch and Ms. Bogert.

The Division of Enforcement’s Climate and ESG Task Force provided assistance in this matter. More information about the Task Force can be found here.

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Press release distributed by the SEC.

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