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$4.3B! DOJ Announces 10th and Final Distribution of Financial Recovery to 40,000+ Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims

Posted 01/2/25

On December 30, 2024, the government shared an important update on its Madoff Ponzi Scheme victim recovery distribution efforts. The Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) shelled out over $131.4 million to victims in its 10th and final round of distributions to victims of the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud scheme. These funds will be distributed to over 23,000 victims around the world. With the...

Tagged in: Ponzi Schemes,

What a sham(e)! Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison for Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme “IcomTech”

Posted 12/9/24

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced that defendants David Brend (50, of Tampa, Florida) and Gustavo Rodriguez (48, of North Hollywood, California) were sentenced to prison for 10 years and 8 years, respectively, for their involvement in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme named IcomTech. The sentences were given by the Honorable Jennifer L. Rochon after a two-week trial...

Tagged in: Cryptocurrency, Ponzi Schemes,

Top Ten Federal Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2022

Posted 02/2/23

Financial and healthcare fraud often can carry stiff monetary penalties for entities facing government enforcement, as shown on our other Top Ten Lists. Whistleblowers reporting wrongful conduct under one of the federal whistleblower reward laws sometimes find that criminal authorities are as interested in their allegations as civil enforcement agencies and authorities. Fraud can also result in criminal charges and...

Tagged in: Criminal Proceedings, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Ponzi Schemes, Tax Fraud, Top 10, Visa Fraud,

Top Ten Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2021

Posted 01/28/22

Individuals involved in financial and healthcare fraud schemes face not just civil liability, but also criminal penalties – including prison time. In 2021, the Department of Justice obtained substantial prison sentences in a myriad of cases involving healthcare and financial frauds, many of which involved convictions of the type of fraudulent schemes that whistleblowers report. Whistleblowers play an essential role...

Tagged in: Compounding Pharmacy Fraud, COVID-19, Criminal Proceedings, Education Fraud, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Home Health and Hospice, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicare, Money Laundering, Ponzi Schemes, Securities Fraud, Top 10,

SEC Chairman Views Cryptocurrency Markets as the “Wild West” and Calls for More Investor Protection

Posted 08/13/21

Cryptocurrency and US Hundred Dollar Bills Scattered Around

During a recent speech discussing the intersection of national security with cryptocurrencies at the Aspen Security Forum, Gary Gensler, the new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), made clear the SEC will use its broad powers to continue protecting investors from the volatility associated with cryptocurrency markets which he characterized as the “Wild West.” He also urged Congress to grant...

Tagged in: Cryptocurrency, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Insider Trading, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Ponzi Schemes, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Rewards,

How will regulators respond to Bitcoin’s price fluctuations?

Posted 05/18/21

The price of Bitcoin—never stable—has become even more erratic in the last month. From April 17 to May 17, the price fell 26%. Such a huge drop would be noteworthy in a stock investment. But in something claiming to be a currency, that kind of instability is normally only seen in times of crisis and hyperinflation. Coming just as cryptocurrencies are making a play to be considered mainstream, this latest...

Tagged in: Cryptocurrency, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Insider Trading, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Ponzi Schemes, Securities Fraud,

Catch of the Week: Fraud Behind the Silver Screen

Posted 04/9/21

This week the SEC announced that it obtained an emergency asset freeze in an enforcement action against L.A.-based actor Zachary Horwitz and his company 1nMM Capital, LLC for allegedly running a $690 million Ponzi scheme. In its complaint, the SEC claimed Horowitz’s recent actions threatened to dissipate the remaining investor funds in his possession. While this story is still technically “mid-catch,” the...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Financial and Investment Fraud, Ponzi Schemes,

CFTC Clobbers Cryptocurrency Con Man

Posted 04/1/21

Last week, the CFTC announced that a federal court entered a nearly $600 million default judgment against a British man who used bitcoin to defraud more than 1,000 people worldwide. The judgment is yet another indication that the CFTC will vigorously police cryptocurrency fraud.

The Scam

The CFTC filed a complaint against Benjamin Reynolds and his bitcoin trading and investment company, Control-Finance, back in...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Cryptocurrency, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Ponzi Schemes,

Catch of the Week: The Long Tail of an Infamous Ponzi Scheme

Posted 02/26/21

gavel with handcuffs and money scattered around

In 2012, R. Allen Stanford, former head of Stanford International Bank (SIB), was sentenced to 110 years’ imprisonment for masterminding a massive Ponzi scheme through which he misappropriated $7 billion from bank customers. That scheme had been running for twenty years when it was shut down in 2009. Now, in February 2021, ten years after Stanford’s conviction and thirty years after his scheme began, the...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Financial and Investment Fraud, Ponzi Schemes,

Top Ten Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2020

Posted 01/27/21

Hands in handcuffs behind back of white man in business suit

Individuals involved in financial and healthcare fraud schemes face not just civil liability, but also criminal penalties – including prison time. In 2020, the Department of Justice obtained substantial prison sentences in a myriad of cases involving healthcare and financial frauds, many of which involved convictions of the type of fraudulent schemes that whistleblowers report. Whistleblowers play an essential role...

Tagged in: Compounding Pharmacy Fraud, Criminal Proceedings, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Pharma Fraud, Ponzi Schemes, Top 10,

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$4.3B! DOJ Announces 10th and Final Distribution of Financial Recovery to 40,000+ Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims

What a sham(e)! Two Defendants Sentenced to Prison for Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme “IcomTech”

Top Ten Federal Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2022

Top Ten Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2021

SEC Chairman Views Cryptocurrency Markets as the “Wild West” and Calls for More Investor Protection

How will regulators respond to Bitcoin’s price fluctuations?

Catch of the Week: Fraud Behind the Silver Screen

CFTC Clobbers Cryptocurrency Con Man

The Scam

Catch of the Week: The Long Tail of an Infamous Ponzi Scheme

Top Ten Financial and Healthcare Fraud Prison Sentences of 2020

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