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A New York man was sentenced to four years in prison for purchasing stolen or compromised credit cards and assisting other members of the Infraud Organization in monetizing their fraudulent activity. The Infraud Organization, a transnational cybercrime enterprise engaged in the mass acquisition and sale of fraud-related goods and services, including stolen identities, compromised credit card data, computer malware, and other contraband.
According to court documents, the enterprise boasted over 10,000 members at its peak and operated for more than seven years under the slogan “In Fraud We Trust.” The Infraud Organization is responsible for the purchase and sale of over four million stolen credit and debit card numbers. This scheme cost victims more than $568 million dollars.
John Telusma, 37, aka Peterelliot, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty in the District of Nevada to one count of racketeering conspiracy on Oct. 13, 2021. According to court documents, the defendant joined the Infraud Organization in August 2011, maintaining his membership for five and a half years. Telusma was among the most prolific and active members of the Infraud Organization, purchasing and fraudulently using compromised credit card numbers for his own personal gain.
Telusma is the 14th defendant to be held accountable for his role in the Infraud scheme. Telusma’s co-defendants who have been previously sentenced include:
Infraud co-founder Sergey Medvedev, 34, aka Stells, of Russia, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison;
Malware developer Valerian Chiochiu, 32, aka Onassis, of California, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison;
VIP Member Arnaldo Sanchez Torteya, 35, aka Elroncoluna, of Mexico, who was sentenced to eight years in prison;
VIP Member Edgar Rojas, 31 aka Guapo, of Venezuela, who was sentenced to eight years in prison;
ATM skimmer Jose Gamboa, 35, aka Rafael101, of California, who was sentenced to eight years in prison; and
VIP Member Pius Wilson, 35 aka FDIC, of New York, who was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Las Vegas made the announcement.
The HSI Las Vegas and the Henderson, Nevada, Police Department investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this case.
Deputy Chief Kelly Pearson and Trial Attorneys Chad McHenry and Alexander Gottfried of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case.
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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission this week proposed amendments to enhance and modernize the Investment Company Act “Names Rule” to address changes in the fund industry and compliance practices that have developed in the approximately 20 years since the rule was adopted. A fund’s name is an important marketing tool and can have a significant impact on investors’ decisions when selecting investments, and the Names Rule addresses fund names that are likely to mislead investors about a fund’s investments and risks. The proposal follows a request for comment the SEC issued to gather public feedback on potential reforms to the rule in March 2020.
“A lot has happened in our capital markets in the past two decades. As the fund industry has developed, gaps in the current Names Rule may undermine investor protection,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “In particular, some funds have claimed that the rule does not apply to them — even though their name suggests that investments are selected based on specific criteria or characteristics. Today’s proposal would modernize the Names Rule for today’s markets.”
The Names Rule currently requires registered investment companies whose names suggest a focus in a particular type of investment (among other areas) to adopt a policy to invest at least 80 percent of the value of their assets in those investments (an “80 percent investment policy”). The proposed amendments would enhance the rule’s protections by requiring more funds to adopt an 80 percent investment policy. Specifically, the proposed amendments would extend the requirement to any fund name with terms suggesting that the fund focuses in investments that have (or whose issuers have) particular characteristics. This would include fund names with terms such as “growth” or “value” or terms indicating that the fund’s investment decisions incorporate one or more environmental, social, or governance factors. The amendments also would limit temporary departures from the 80 percent investment requirement and clarify the rule’s treatment of derivative investments.
The proposing release will be published in the Federal Register. The comment period will remain open for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Oshri tried to stop the release of Vargas’s series exposing her alleged participation in a $370M PPE scheme
In June 2021, Investor News reporter Aitana Vargas was served with court papers to stop the release of her months-long investigative series exposing entrepreneur Hadari Oshri’s participation in an alleged multimillion-dollar PPE scam with conman Marc Lubaszka.
In September 2021, Oshri’s meritless legal effort to silence Vargas’s investigative series was thrown out by a Los Angeles judge, and Oshri will have to pay the journalist’s legal fees as ordered by California’s powerful anti-SLAPP statute, which protects First Amendment rights.
“This nomination is a step in the right direction, but it falls way short of expectations for Oshri’s and Lubaszka’s victims, who are still demanding accountability. They want law enforcement to resolve their years-long grievances,” the journalist said.
“Leslie Lawson, one of Lubaszka’s victims, just told me that all she wants is for her $215,000 IRA to be returned. This is a good time for law enforcement to reach out again to their many victims across the US.”
Hadari Oshri’s frivolous case delayed the release of Vargas’s exposé
In Oshri’s non-sense petition against the award-winning correspondent, the Israeli accused the reporter of being a “desperate,” “very dangerous woman” and “a corrupted reporter” without any proof. Oshri also referred to the journalist as “Miss Dicks” (Miss Vergas) and “My Dicks” (Mis Vergas) and fabricated a baseless theory that didn’t fly with the court.
“Oshri’s and her attorneys’ arguments sounded like a low-budget Hallmark movie script,” the reporter said. “Their arguments were simply pathetic. This is not about assigning symbolism to specific calendar dates. This is about widespread accusations of fraud, and there’s evidence of alleged fraud all over the place.”
Vargas, who is represented by the law offices of Michael Creamer in her anti-SLAPP case against Oshri, is still waiting for the judge to enter a $23,000 legal fees judgment against the entrepreneur for filing a meritless case.
Vargas was pressured by Hadari Oshri’s attorney, John Tamborelli, 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?”
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.
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Two brothers, each a dual-citizen of Panama and Italy, were each sentenced to 36 months in prison for laundering $28 million in a bribery and money laundering scheme involving Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht), a Brazil-based global construction conglomerate. The defendants were also ordered to forfeit more than $18.8 million, pay a $250,000 fine and serve two years’ supervised release.
Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, 40, and Ricardo Enrique Martinelli Linares, 42, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and admitted to agreeing with others to establish offshore bank accounts in the names of shell companies to receive and disguise over $28 million in bribe proceeds from Odebrecht for the benefit of a close relative, a high-ranking public official in Panama. According to court documents, approximately $19 million of the bribes were transferred through U.S. banks. Luis Martinelli Linares also used some of the proceeds of the scheme to purchase a $1.7 million yacht and a $1.3 million condominium in the United States, and Ricardo Martinelli Linares spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds to pay personal expenses.
On Dec. 21, 2016, Odebrecht pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to a criminal information charging it with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its involvement in the bribery and money laundering scheme. According to court documents, the scheme involved the payment of more than $700 million in bribes to government officials, public servants, political parties, and others in Panama and other countries around the world to obtain and retain business for the company.
The defendants were initially charged by criminal complaint on June 27, 2020. Pursuant to a provisional arrest request from the United States, they were arrested at el Aeropuerto Internacional la Aurora in Guatemala on July 6, 2020, as they were attempting to depart Guatemala on a private plane, and later held on extradition requests from the United States. Both defendants filed multiple challenges and appeals opposing the extradition request in Guatemalan courts before ultimately being extradited to the United States, Luis Martinelli Linares on Nov. 15, 2021, and Ricardo Martinelli Linares on Dec. 10, 2021.
On Feb. 4, 2021, Luis Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares were charged with conspiracy and money laundering charges by an indictment filed in federal court in Brooklyn.
“Ricardo and Luis Martinelli Linares directed millions of dollars in bribes through U.S. banks to their own Swiss accounts in order to help Odebrecht gain corrupt influence at the highest levels of the Panamanian government,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentences show that the Department of Justice remains committed to prosecuting individuals who enable and profit from laundering corrupt payments to foreign officials through the U.S. financial system, as well as those who attempt to spend the proceeds of corruption in the United States.”
“The Martinelli brothers used American banks to commit their selfish, greedy fraud – and now it is the American legal system serving justice with today’s sentencing, especially for the people of Panama,” said U.S. Attorney Peace. “Together, the Department of Justice, this office and our law enforcement partners stand firm against international corruption and will use all tools at our disposal to root it out.”
“The defendants laundered millions of dollars in bribes through the U.S. financial system to benefit a close relative and maintain their luxury lifestyles,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s sentencing shows that the FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to bringing to justice anyone who enables the corruption of public officials for personal gain.”
The FBI’s International Corruption Unit in New York is investigating this case, with the support of FBI Legal Attaché Panama. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing their arrest and extradition from Guatemala.
Trial Attorney Michael Culhane Harper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Barbara Levy and Michael Redmann of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alixandra E. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Mantell of U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York’s Civil Division is handling forfeiture matters.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative in MLARS was formed to prosecute money launderers and forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered assets to benefit the people harmed by the corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.
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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Wells Fargo Advisors for failing to file at least 34 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in a timely manner between April 2017 and October 2021. Wells Fargo Advisors, the St. Louis-based broker-dealer, has agreed to pay $7 million to settle the charges.
According to the SEC’s order, due to Wells Fargo Advisors’ deficient implementation and failure to test a new version of its internal anti-money laundering (AML) transaction monitoring and alert system adopted in January 2019, the system failed to reconcile the different country codes used to monitor foreign wire transfers. As a result, Wells Fargo Advisors did not timely file at least 25 SARs related to suspicious transactions in its customers’ brokerage accounts involving wire transfers to or from foreign countries that it determined to be at a high or moderate risk for money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illegal money movements. The order also found that, beginning in April 2017, Wells Fargo Advisors failed to timely file at least nine additional SARs due to a failure to appropriately process wire transfer data into its AML transaction monitoring system in certain other situations.
“When SEC registrants like Wells Fargo Advisors fail to comply with their AML obligations, they put the investing public at risk because they deprive regulators of timely information about possible money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illegal money movements,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Through this enforcement action, we are not only holding Wells Fargo Advisors accountable, but also sending a loud and clear message to other registrants that AML obligations are sacrosanct.”
Broker-dealers are required by the Bank Secrecy Act and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to file SARs for transactions they suspect involve fraud or a lack of an apparent lawful business purpose. This is the second Bank Secrecy Act action against Wells Fargo Advisors in the last five years. In November 2017, the SEC issued a settled order against Wells Fargo Advisors for failing to timely file at least 50 SARs.
The SEC’s order finds that Wells Fargo Advisors, which is the trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 17a-8. In addition to the $7 million penalty, Wells Fargo Advisors, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, agreed to a censure and a cease and desist order.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Richard Stoltz of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office and was supervised by Kathryn A. Pyszka and Anne C. McKinley, with assistance from Daniel J. Goldberg, Damon Reed, David Cohen and Andrae S. Eccles of the SEC’s Bank Secrecy Act Review Group. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
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SEC Charges Allianz Global Investors and Three Former Senior Portfolio Managers with Multibillion Dollar Securities Fraud
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week charged Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC (AGI US) and three former senior portfolio managers with a massive fraudulent scheme that concealed the immense downside risks of a complex options trading strategy they called “Structured Alpha.” AGI US marketed and sold the strategy to approximately 114 institutional investors, including pension funds for teachers, clergy, bus drivers, engineers, and other individuals. After the COVID-19 market crash of March 2020 exposed the fraudulent scheme, the strategy lost billions of dollars as a result of AGI US and the portfolio managers’ misconduct. AGI US has agreed to pay billions of dollars as part of an integrated, global resolution, including more than $1 billion to settle SEC charges and together with its parent, Allianz SE, over $5 billion in restitution to victims.
“Allianz Global Investors admitted to defrauding investors over multiple years, concealing losses and downside risks of a complex strategy, and failing to implement key risk controls,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The victims of this misconduct include teachers, clergy, bus drivers, and engineers, whose pensions are invested in institutional funds to support their retirement. This case once again demonstrates that even the most sophisticated institutional investors, like pension funds, can become victims of wrongdoing. Unfortunately, we’ve seen a recent string of cases in which derivatives and complex products have harmed investors across market sectors. The Commission stands ready to use all appropriate tools to protect investors, including upholding prohibitions against certain activities by the guilty parties. I’d like to thank and commend our staff for their excellent forensic work that uncovered this fraud and held the wrongdoers accountable.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that Structured Alpha’s Lead Portfolio Manager, Gregoire P. Tournant, orchestrated the multi-year scheme to mislead investors who invested approximately $11 billion in Structured Alpha, and paid the defendants over $550 million in fees. It further alleges that, with assistance from Co-Lead Portfolio Manager, Trevor L. Taylor, and Portfolio Manager, Stephen G. Bond-Nelson, Tournant manipulated numerous financial reports and other information provided to investors to conceal the magnitude of Structured Alpha’s true risk and the funds’ actual performance.
Defendants reduced losses under a market crash scenario in one risk report sent to investors from negative 42.1505489755747% to negative 4.1505489755747% — by simply dropping the single digit 2. In another example, defendants “smoothed” performance data sent to investors by reducing losses on one day from negative 18.2607085709004% to negative 9.2607085709004% — this time by cutting the number 18 in half.
When the 2020 COVID-related market volatility revealed that AGI US and the defendants had misled investors about the fund’s level of risk, the fund suffered catastrophic losses and investors lost billions; the defendants all the while profited from their deception. The complaint further alleges that Tournant, Taylor, and Bond-Nelson then made multiple, ultimately unsuccessful, efforts to conceal their misconduct from the SEC, including false testimony and meetings in vacant construction sites to discuss sending their assets overseas.
“From at least January 2016 through March 2020, the defendants lied about nearly every aspect of a highly complex investment strategy they marketed to institutional investors, including pension funds managing the retirement savings of everyday Americans. While they were able to solicit over $11 billion in investments by the end of 2019 and earn over $550 million in fees as a result of their lies, they lost over $5 billion in investor funds when the market volatility of March 2020 exposed the true risk of their products,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Following the crash of the Structured Alpha Funds, the defendants continued their pattern of deceit by lying to SEC staff and their fraud would have gone undetected if it weren’t for the persistence of SEC lawyers who pieced together the full scope of the massive fraud.”
AGI US admitted that its conduct violated the federal securities laws and agreed to a cease-and-desist order, a censure and payment of $315.2 million in disgorgement, $34 million in prejudgment interest, and a $675 million civil penalty, a portion of which will be distributed to certain investors, with the amount of disgorgement and prejudgment interest deemed satisfied by amounts it paid to the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an integrated, global resolution. In a parallel criminal proceeding, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges for similar conduct against AGI US, Tournant, Taylor, and Bond-Nelson. As part of the parallel criminal proceeding, AGI US, Taylor and Bond-Nelson have agreed to guilty pleas.
The SEC’s complaint seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus interest, and penalties against Tournant, Taylor, and Bond-Nelson. In addition, the complaint seeks an officer and director bar against Tournant. Taylor and Bond-Nelson have agreed to the entry of partial judgments against them in which they consent to injunctive relief with monetary relief to be determined by the court in the future. These settlements are subject to court approval. Taylor and Bond-Nelson also agreed to associational and penny stock bars.
As a consequence of the guilty plea, AGI US is automatically and immediately disqualified from providing advisory services to US registered investment funds for the next ten years, and will exit the business of conducting these fund services. To avoid disruptions to these funds and for the protection of the fund investors, the SEC will allow a brief transition period solely to transition these services to another investment adviser. The transition period will be ten weeks for the US mutual funds that AGI US sub-advises and four months for the US closed-end funds that AGI US advises.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jonathan C. Shapiro and James F. Murtha, and supervised by Reid A. Muoio of the Complex Financial Instruments Unit. The litigation will be led by Timothy K. Halloran under the supervision of Melissa J. Armstrong. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that his office today charged a Tujunga doctor for issuing fake COVID vaccination cards and injecting some of his patients with blood plasma he received from donors.
“It is disturbing that people, especially medical professionals, continue to use the pandemic as an opportunity to deceive the public,” District Attorney Gascón said. “Fake COVID vaccination cards are illegal and endanger our collective health and well-being. We will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to protect consumers and stop medical fraud.”
Donald Plance (dob 12/9/53) was charged in case BA505464 with 10 felony counts of making a forged government seal and 10 misdemeanor counts of making a false medical record and one misdemeanor count each of making a drug without a license and possession of a contaminated medical device. Arraignment will be scheduled for a later date.
Between August and November of last year, Plance is accused of making his own vaccination cards and giving them to his patients. The cards appeared to be genuine, bearing the Center for Disease Control and Health and Human Services seals.
Plance also allegedly injected his patients with blood plasma from donors who purportedly previously had COVID-19, claiming that the procedure would protect his patients from contracting the virus. Blood plasma injections are not a federally approved vaccination. It is recommended that patients seek guidance from a licensed medical provider.
The case remains under investigation by the California Department of Consumer Affairs Division of Investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General.
Press release distributed by the LA County District Attorney’s District.
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Defendants, including persons barred from the brokerage industry, allegedly sold shares they didn’t own, and pocketed more than $75 million
Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced this week that it obtained asset freezes and other emergency relief against StraightPath Venture Partners LLC, StraightPath Management LLC, Brian K. Martinsen, Michael A. Castillero, Francine A. Lanaia, and Eric D. Lachow (collectively, the defendants) to halt ongoing securities violations, including allegedly selling pre-initial public offering (IPO) shares they did not own, pocketing undisclosed fees, and commingling investor funds, resulting in Ponzi scheme-like payments. The relief arose from fraud and registration charges filed by the SEC.
The SEC alleges that the defendants, running an unregistered broker-dealer with a vast network of sales agents, raised at least $410 million from more than 2,200 investors from November 2017 through February 2022. The SEC also alleges that the defendants repeatedly told investors that each investment would be kept separate and that they were charging no upfront fees, but the defendants freely commingled investor funds, paid themselves more than $75 million, and paid their sales agents nearly $48 million from illegal, undisclosed markups on the pre-IPO shares that were, in some cases, as high as 100 percent. The SEC alleges that a share deficit exists of at least $14 million across the funds. The defendants also allegedly concealed from investors that two of the three founders, Castillero and Lanaia, ran the funds despite being barred from the brokerage industry. When SEC staff sought copies of the emails sent by the defendants’ sales agents during its investigation, rather than producing them, Castillero and Martinsen allegedly deleted them from their servers and texted that “an a***hole regulator would have a field day” with a particular e-mail.
“We allege that the defendants deceived investors about the pre-IPO shares they held, how much they were charging in fees, and who was controlling the business—all while paying themselves more than $75 million,” said Lara S. Mehraban, Acting Director of the New York Regional Office. “We filed this emergency action to stop the ongoing fraud and to preserve assets for investors.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, charges the defendants with violating antifraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties. The SEC obtained a court order to freeze the assets of Martinsen, Castillero, Lanaia, StraightPath Venture Partners, and StraightPath Management. The order further temporarily enjoins the defendants from violating these provisions of the federal securities laws and orders them not to destroy any additional relevant documents. A hearing on the SEC’s application, which also seeks the appointment of a receiver, will be held on May 26, 2022.
The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Megan R. Genet, Tian Wen, Douglas Smith, Debbie Chan, Lee A. Greenwood, Patricia Schrage, Alistaire Bambach, and Steven G. Rawlings of the New York Regional Office, with assistance from Suman Beros. It is being supervised by Sheldon L. Pollock. The litigation will be led by Mr. Greenwood and Philip A. Fortino. The SEC appreciates the assistance of Ronald Krietzman, Michael McAuliffe, and Stephen DeBella of the NYRO Broker-Dealer and Exchange Program (BDX), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Office of the Montana State Auditor, Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, and the New Jersey Bureau of Securities.
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Washington D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission this week announced that it has extended the public comment period on the proposed rulemaking to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures for investors until June 17, 2022. The SEC also announced that it will reopen the comment periods on the proposed rulemaking to enhance private fund investor protection and on the proposed rulemaking to include significant Treasury markets platforms within Regulation ATS for 30 days.
“Today, the Commission acted to provide the public with additional time to comment on three proposed rulemakings that have drawn significant interest from a wide breadth of investors, issuers, market participants, and other stakeholders,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The SEC benefits greatly from hearing from the public on proposed regulatory changes. Commenters with diverse views have noted that they would benefit from additional time to review these three proposals, and I’m pleased that the public will have additional time to provide thoughtful feedback.”
The public comment period for the proposed rulemaking “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors,” Release Nos. 33-11042, 34-94478 (March 21, 2022) will now end on June 17, 2022. The scope and comment process for this release remains as stated in the original Federal Register notice of April 11, 2022.
The public comment periods for the proposed rulemakings “Private Fund Advisers; Documentation of Registered Investment Adviser Compliance Reviews,” Release Nos. IA-5955 (Feb. 9, 2022) and “Amendments Regarding the Definition of ‘Exchange’ and Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) That Trade U.S. Treasury and Agency Securities, National Market System (NMS) Stocks, and Other Securities,” Release No. 34-94062 (Jan. 26, 2022) will be reopened for 30 days following publication of the reopening release in the Federal Register. The scope and comment process for both releases will remain as stated in the original Federal Register notices of March 24, 2022, and March 18, 2022.
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A federal jury convicted a Florida woman Friday for laundering approximately $786,000 in money stolen from Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurers as part of a sprawling health care fraud scheme in Miami.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jesmina Ramirez, 50, of Miami Gardens, laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud proceeds by cashing checks written from five fraudulent medical supply companies and returning that cash, minus a fee, to her co-conspirators. The five fraudulent medical supply companies for whom she laundered money – BF Distributors Corp.; Timely Medical Services Corp.; Ortho-Med Solution Inc.; Expedited Medical Supplies Corp.; and Prime Orthopedic Solutions Corp. – billed Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers more than $48 million for medical equipment the companies never actually purchased and never provided to any patients. Ramirez laundered the stolen money by cashing more than 120 checks from the fraudulent companies over more than two years.
Ramirez was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of money laundering. She faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for July 13.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Regional Office; and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody made the announcement.
The FBI, HHS-OIG, FDIC-OIG, and Florida’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Alexander Thor Pogozelski and Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
Vargas was pressured by Hadari Oshri’s attorney, John Tamborelli, into quitting her investigative series
In a 
