Ex-Woodbridge Group of Companies CEO and owner Robert Shapiro and former Woodbridge directors Ivan Acevedo and Dane R. Roseman are now facing criminal charges over their alleged involvement in operating a $1.2B Ponzi scam that went on from ’12 to ’17. All three men were arrested and appeared in federal…
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against two men claiming to be pastors of a church at a strip mall in Orange County, California. Kent R.E. Whitney and David Lee Parrish are accused of targeting members of their local Vietnamese community and defrauding investors of…
Cameron Jezierski, a Texas resident, has pleaded guilty to charges tying him to a Ponzi scam that defrauded over 400 investors of $360M. Jezierski and two other men, Jay Ledford, also of Texas, and Kevin Merrill were indicted last year for money laundering, identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy. They…
Carol Ann Pederson, an unregistered investment advisor and an ex-CPA, is facing charges accusing her of defrauding more than two dozen investors. The US Securities and Exchange Commission claims that Pederson: Raised at least $29M from investors. Made false promises that their money would go into “federally guaranteed securities.” Touted…
$20M Ponzi Scam Results in Guilty Plea for Kiddar Capital Founder Todd Hitt, Kiddar Capital’s founder and a member of a prominent commercial real estate family in Virginia, has pleaded guilty to criminal fraud charges accusing him of operating a $20M Ponzi fraud that involved several schemes. According to prosecutors,…
Ex-Merrill Lynch Broker Will Pay $5M Penalty and Serve Time In Prison A federal judge has sentenced Thomas Buck, an ex-Merrill Lynch broker, to 40 months in prison. Buck pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2017. As part of his plea, he admitted to lying to Merrill about telling clients about…
A federal court has ordered the Woodbridge Group of Companies and its former CEO and owner Robert H. Shapiro to pay $1B in disgorgement and penalties for allegedly running a $1.2B Ponzi scam that victimized 8,400 retail investors, including many senior investors who ended up losing their retirement money. Of…
John G. Schmidt, an ex-Wells Fargo (WFC) broker, is now facing 128 felony counts over his alleged running of a $1M Ponzi scam. Criminal charges include: 124 counts of forgery 1 count of telecommunications fraud 2 counts of theft from a disabled or older adult 1 count of deceit or…
In federal court in New Jersey, a jury has found former investment manager Vincent P. Falci guilty of securities fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud related to a $10B Ponzi scam that defrauded over two hundred of his former clients, including Falci’s own relatives, friends, business associates, police officers,…
Former HCR Wealth Advisors financial adviser Admits to Defrauding Pro Athlete of $1.2M Jeremy Joseph Drake, an ex-HCR Wealth Advisors financial adviser, has agreed to a consent judgment in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against him in which he admits that he defrauded a pro athlete and his…