Archive

Department of Justice Compensates Victims of Bernard Madoff Fraud Scheme With Funds Recovered Through Asset Forfeiture

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The Department of Justice today announced that on Nov. 9, the Madoff Victim Fund began its initial distribution of $772.5 million in funds forfeited to the U.S. Government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC fraud scheme.  These funds will be sent to 24,631 victims across the globe. This distribution represents the first in a series of payments that...

Investment Adviser Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Options Trading Scheme

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The SEC charged a Westchester, New York-based investment adviser with fraud stemming from lies to retail investors about the value of their investments in a Ponzi-like scheme. The SEC alleges that, starting in approximately 2010, Michael Scronic began to raise money from at least 42 friends and acquaintances, many of whom were from his suburban community, in order to invest...

Fraudster of the Week -- Randall Rye, The "Mini-Madoff"

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team On Wednesday, a Chicago judge sentenced 26-year-old Randall Rye to nearly six years in prison for what federal prosecutors have called a “mini-Bernie Madoff scam.” Rye, the founder of Faster Than Light Trading LLC, pled guilty in April to one count of wire fraud and admitted to bilking around 20 investors of more than $1.7 million with a fake proprietary trading scheme. He...

Fraudster of the Week -- Texas State Senator Carlos Uresti

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in San Antonio returned two indictments against state senator Carlos Uresti in connection with two schemes—one involving alleged kickbacks for a medical services contract at a county jail, and a second dealing with an alleged Ponzi scheme that marketed sand used for hydraulic fracking.  He now faces more than a dozen criminal charges and,...

In Their Own Words -- Platinum Hedge Fund Partner

-- “Don’t forget the books. Assume we are not coming back to ny.”

A partner at Platinum hedge fund discussing fleeing to Israel when the government started investigating the firm on suspicion that it was operating as a Ponzi scheme. Click here for more.

In Their Own Words -- Ceshker

-- “I have never recovered. I will be 71 in October, still working, with no hope of ever retiring again.” 

George Ceshker, a 70-year-old former American Airlines pilot, who says he lost about 40 percent of his retirement in the Worldwide Entertainment Ponzi scheme.  Click here for more.

In Their Own Words — Orlando

-- “When you knowingly mix deceit and trickery into the financial well-being of individuals, you create a recipe for devastation that could last a lifetime.”

Anthony J. Orlando, IRS Acting Special Agent in Charge, commenting on the sentencing of Medical Capital Holdings Inc.'s ex-president, who will serve over 10 years in federal prison for operating a $50M Ponzi scheme. Read more here.

Is the Eros Whistleblower the Harry Markopolos of Bollywood or Just Another Short Selling Fraudster?

By Tim McCormack and Molly Knobler (published in the Huffington Post) Eros International, the so-called Netflix of Bollywood, is deep in the throes of either an Enron-type accounting scandal or a vicious smear campaign by an anonymous source intent on driving its stock price down (perhaps to profit from manipulating the share price). The anonymous source, a blogger known as Alpha Exposure, has published a series...

Top-10 DOJ Prison Sentences For Fraud In 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Here is our look-back at the top-10 prison sentences secured by the Department of Justice for healthcare, financial and other types of fraud in 2015.      10.  CHRISTOPHER CIAMPA -- The U.S. Army soldier stationed in Afghanistan was sentenced to 10 years for submitting fake Transportation Movement Requests (TMRs) for thousands of gallons of fuel that were neither...

SEC Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is With $14M Whistleblower Award

By Gordon Schnell It has been more than two years since the SEC Whistleblower Office officially opened its doors.  Born out of the Dodd-Frank Act, it was created to help usher in a new day of more aggressive enforcement at an agency that up until recently many believed was very much asleep at the switch.  But with all of the fanfare surrounding the new office, and the flood of whistleblower tips that have poured...