A Kansas City, MO, preacher and four co-conspirators were convicted last week for running a large-scale investment scam that exploited black churchgoers. Owen Isreal Hawkins, 57, masterminded a fraudulent stock offering that would swindle around 9,000 unqualified investors out of $10.2 million, causing $7.2 million in losses. After being indicted in 2010, he has been… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: affinity fraud
Huckster Bamboozled Church Congregation out of $1.5 Million
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesAn Orange County, CA, man has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for running a bogus investment scheme in New Jersey. Robert Schroy, 68, had earlier admitted guilt to counts of wire fraud and tax evasion in a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office. In another case of affinity fraud, Schroy had scammed… Continue Reading
Man Operated Ponzi Scheme out of Trump Tower
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesChicago resident Christopher Varlesi, 53, was sentenced last week in US District Court to 5 years in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme. Varlesi, who admitted guilt in a plea agreement with prosecutors in December 2012, managed to raise approximately $1.5 million from 18 investors, many of them family and friends, ostensibly for use… Continue Reading
Party’s Over for Wilton Manors Ponzi Promoter
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesWilton Manors, FL, resident Jim Ellis, the middle-man in a Ponzi scheme that raised $11 million from 40 investors, has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison after making a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office in February. The 69-year-old Ellis had acted as the promoter in an investment fraud engineered… Continue Reading
Ponzi Schemers Pulled Off Comic Book Caper
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesIn a case worthy of corny 1960’s superhero canon, three Chicago-area men have been sentenced in US District Court for running a Ponzi scheme centered on comic books. Daniel Parrilli, 62, John Lauer, 48, and Christopher Andersen, 57, are all headed back to club fed for respective 70-month, 31-month, and 95-month prison sentences. All three… Continue Reading
Accused Sunset Ponzi Schemer Flaunted Glitzy Returns
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesLos Angeles resident Shervin Neman was placed under arrest by FBI agents last week after being indicted by a federal grand jury for operating a Ponzi scheme. The 31-year-old Neman (given name Davatgarzadeh) faces two single counts of mail and wire fraud as well as one count of causing a criminal act. He is accused… Continue Reading
Usury Claims in Doubt in CA Ponzi Clawback Case
Posted in Bankruptcy Clawback News, Legal RepresentationIn July and August 2012, bankruptcy Trustee Michael Burkart brought over one hundred clawback lawsuits in the underlying bankruptcy case In Re Vincent Thakur Singh, et al., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of California, Case No. 10-42050, against nearly 200 people who were defrauded in an elaborate Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Vincent Singh. The vast… Continue Reading
Fake Pastor Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi AnalysisAfter making a plea deal admitting to the sale of unregistered securities in March, Allen County, IN, resident Bradley Collins was sentenced last week to two years of work release and six of probation for promoting a $46.5 million Ponzi scheme. The 56-year-old Collins had originally been indicted in October of 2012 on additional charges… Continue Reading
American Ponzi: The Blur Between Fantasy and Reality
Posted in Ponzi Analysis, Ponzi ProfilesWhile a work of fiction, the following report is a composite narrative based on actual events taken from real-life Ponzi schemes. Links are to stories Hackard Law has previously covered. California hedge fund wizard and snow-cone king Gonzo Wiggler, 50, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud and… Continue Reading
Gridiron Coach Used Ponzi Playbook to Score $81 Million – Indictment
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesWhile he used to run the famous wishbone offense, former University of Georgia football coach and onetime ESPN commentator Jim Donnan has now been indicted for running an $81 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded 94 investors. The 68-year-old Donnan, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame who also led West Virginia’s Marshall to… Continue Reading
Just a Few Minutes Needed to Convict Ponzi Schemer
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesAfter what must have been a tense and excruciating 10 minutes of deliberations, Palm Beach County jurors in accused Ponzi schemer Charlotte Durante’s trial finally found her guilty on charges of money laundering and fraud. Durante, 69, had been indicted in 2010 for operating a $1.8 million Ponzi scheme. While Durante had been able to delay… Continue Reading
Accused Ponzi Schemer Alleges Klan Plot
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesPalm Beach resident Charlotte Durante, arrested in 2010 on charges of fraud and money laundering, is livening up her trial with claims of a racist plot afoot. The 68-year-old Durante, a former elected member of the Delray Beach City Commission, stands accused of running a Ponzi scheme that bilked 83 victims out of $1.8 million…. Continue Reading
Father, Son Bonded Together in Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesWhile some fathers and sons might attend baseball games together or go hunting, John and Antonio Bravata shared a rather unique bonding experience: running a Ponzi scheme. The father-son duo was convicted last week in US District Court in Detroit for operating a $53 million investment fraud that swindled 440 victims. From 2006 to 2009… Continue Reading
Hawaii Man Promoted Fake Concerts in Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesA Hawaii man is set to plead guilty to a single count of wire fraud after being indicted by federal authorities for running a $1.4 million Ponzi scheme. Jason Pascua, 38, has agreed to admit responsibility for relieving 29 victims of their funds through bogus entertainment projects. While currently residing in Arizona, he has agreed… Continue Reading
Good Friday
Posted in Ponzi AnalysisAs much as we at Hackard Law enjoy pointing out the more ridiculous aspects of Ponzi schemes, their dark side is also readily apparent. Along with other types of fraud, the Ponzi scheme is not just theft, for at its core is the lie. Deceit defines this crime, and it’s a tactic that allows scammers… Continue Reading
Oklahoma Ponzi Schemer Fled to Philippines, was Captured at Mexican Restaurant
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesOklahoma City resident Joe Don Johnson will have to spend almost 10 years in prison for helping run a Ponzi scheme that preyed on elderly investors. The 43-year old Johnson was sentenced to 118 months of incarceration on money laundering conspiracy charges after making a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office last September. From… Continue Reading
Man Dressed Up as Pastor to Market Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesIn another case of religious affinity fraud, Bradley Collins of Fort Wayne, IN, has agreed to plead guilty to selling unregistered securities in a $46.5 million Ponzi case. The 56-year-old Collins acted as pitchman for the alleged scam, orchestrated by David McQueen of Grand Rapids, MI. In addition to the unregistered securities charge, Collins originally… Continue Reading
Psychic “Bishop” Gets 11 Years for Fraud, Bribery Attempt
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesJames Lagona of Buffalo, NY, was sentenced last week to 11 years in federal prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme. The 52-year-old Lagona, who in addition to being a bankruptcy lawyer bills himself as a bishop with psychic powers, also received time for his bid to influence the US Attorney prosecuting him. After… Continue Reading
Ponzi Schemers Filed $100 Million Lien Against Federal Prosecutor
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesTwo Sacramento scammers had an extra year tacked onto their prison sentences after retaliating against the US Attorney and FBI agents. After their 2007 indictment, Ronald Wesley Groves and Donald Charles Mann were convicted in 2011 on 18 counts of wire fraud connected to a $4.8 million Ponzi scheme. It seems that while the two… Continue Reading
Accused Ponzi Schemer: Invest in My CIA Front
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesKorean citizen Kwan Yong Choi was extradited to the United States on money-laundering charges related to a fraudulent investment program today. Choi, 70, was accompanied by federal agents on a flight from Seoul to Fresno, where he stands accused of running a Ponzi scheme that swindled investors out of some $2 million. From 2002 to… Continue Reading
Man With Own Financial Gravity Had Golden Touch
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesJohn Bravata advertises himself as “a man with his own gravity” who “spends his time acquiring commercial real estate, merging and turning businesses into gold.” Yet because of a federal indictment, Bravata has little time to enjoy his storied riches, instead making due with testimony about them in US District Court. This week Bravata, accused… Continue Reading
Former Model Ran $7 Million Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesOrlando resident and former model Tina Louise Mangiardi decided to make a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office in the wake of a $7 million construction Ponzi scheme that swindled 40 mostly male investors. Mangiardi, 50, admitted guilt to two single counts of wire fraud and mail fraud. While each charge carries a maximum… Continue Reading
Ponzi Poster: Ephren Taylor, No-Cares “Billionaire”
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesThis week’s Ponzi Poster features Ephren Taylor, accused of running an $11 million Ponzi scheme through his company City Capital Corporation. The smooth-talking son of a preacher man, Taylor billed himself as a “social capitalist” who sought to uplift urban communities through investment opportunities. Making a whirwind “wealth tour” of black churches across the country, Taylor… Continue Reading
Wilton Manors Ponzi Schemer Ducks out of Trial with Guilty Plea
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesThree days into his trial for operating an $11 million Ponzi scheme that ensnared 40 investors from the Wilton Manors gay community, Fort Lauderdale day trader George Elia decided to throw in the towel and plead guilty to ten counts of fraud leveled against him. Elia, 69, surprised the courtroom with his sudden change of… Continue Reading