Financial and Investment Fraud

November 21, 2022

Michael and Betsy Feinberg, owners of Catharon Software Company and who lied about having developed software capable of generating large returns for investors and philanthropists, will spend 5 years in prison and pay restitution for the $5 million in victim losses. The software, called VDelta, was in fact not under development, yet over a period of 15 years, the Feinbergs lied to investors with false promises about the software’s completion, release date and capabilities. Their investors were comprised mostly of the Feinbergs’ friends and associates located in Sedona, Arizona. The stolen funds were used to pay the Feinbergs’ salaries and to pay for personal expenses. USAO AZ

November 21, 2022

Ruixue “Serena” Shi will spend 20 years in federal prison and has been ordered to pay nearly $36 million in restitution for defrauding investors out of tens of millions of dollars. Shi, convicted on one count of wire fraud, was the general manager of Global House Buyer LLC, a China-based real estate company with an office in Los Angeles. Shi inked a deal with Dakota Development, a subsidiary of SBE Entertainment, to build a real estate development in the City of Coachella consisting of luxury condos, a hotel complex, and conference facilities. Shi solicited investments from mostly Chinese investors, preying on their ignorance of English and trust in the American economy, and led them to believe their investment would help them obtain an American visa. USAO CDCA

November 21, 2022

Todd and Julie Chrisley, married television personalities and newly-convicted fraudsters, will spend 12 and 7 years in federal prison, respectively, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit tax evasion. The Chrisleys defrauded Atlanta-area community banks to obtain more than $36 million in personal loans by submitting false banking and personal financial statements. After funding their lavish, undeserved lifestyle with the multi-million-dollar loans, Todd Chrisley filed bankruptcy, walking away from over $20 million in loans. Both before and during the trial, the Chrisleys attempted to obstruct justice, including by submitting a fraudulent document in response to a grand jury subpoena. In addition to serving time in prison, the Chrisleys will be required to pay restitution in an amount to be determined later. USAO NDGA

November 2, 2022

CBS and former CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves will pay $30.5 million for working with a LAPD captain to conceal sexual assault allegations against Moonves, misleading investors by concealing information about the allegations, and for insider trading based on that information. CBS executives coordinated with the LAPD captain to prevent the complaint from being leaked to the press. As part of the settlement, CBS will reform its HR practices around sexual harassment, and Moonves is prohibited from serving as an officer or a director of any public company doing business in NY, without written approval by OAG. NYAG

October 25, 2022

Ramiro Jose Sugranes and Lina Maria Garcia (Chief Compliance Officer and President of UCB Financial Advisors, Inc.), along with two relief defendants related to Sugranes, must pay $5.7 million for cherry picking investments to divert profitable trades to their family members while saddling other clients with losing trades. Defendants made $4.6 million in unlawful profits on the scheme. Garcia provided Sugranes with UCB’s trading platform login information, which Sugranes used to effectuate the fraud. SEC

October 24, 2022

Cetera Advisors, LLC and Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC were ordered to pay over $8.5 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties combined. Defendants breached their fiduciary duty to their retail advisory clients by not disclosing compensation-related conflicts of interest. SEC

October 21, 2022

Michael J. DaCorta of Sarasota, FL will spend 23 years in prison for his role in a FOREX Ponzi scheme which caused at least 700 investors to lose over $80 million. DaCorta and his co-conspirators lured victims to invest in their Oasis International Group, Ltd. fund by touting Oasis as a “market maker” collecting “spread” on massive FOREX trades. In fact, Oasis was funding a Ponzi scheme, paying Oasis’ earnings back to Oasis, creating the illusion of revenue. Oasis provided fictitious account statements to customers, concealing the underlying trading losses, while funding the fraudsters’ lavish lifestyles. USAO MDFL

October 18, 2022

Building materials manufacturer Lafarge S.A., together with its Syrian subsidiary, pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support and resources to U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, paying penalties, fines, and forfeitures totaling $778 million.  According to the plea, during the civil war in Syria, Lafarge negotiated to pay armed factions to ensure continued operation of a cement plant it operated in Syria.  Defendants effectively entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with ISIS, paying the terrorist organization based on the amount of cement that defendants were able to sell.  DOJ; USAO EDNY

October 17, 2022

In one of New Jersey’s largest civil monetary recoveries ever, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp., and DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc. (collectively, “Credit Suisse”) has agreed to pay $495 million to settle a lawsuit involving misrepresentations it made to investors on the risks of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.  Approximately $100 million will resolve a civil monetary penalty, while another $300 million will be allocated toward restitution for victims nationwide.  Although Credit Suisse previously settled with DOJ for $5.28 billion and with New York for $10 million, the New Jersey settlement is the first to provide restitution.  NJ AG

October 7, 2022

After over a decade on the run, Baron Matson of Australia has been sentenced to 5 years in prison, ordered to pay $4.3 million in restitution, and ordered to forfeit $1.3 million for deceiving investors in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee over twenty years ago.  Matson had misrepresented to investors that he and his father, Roger Matson—both operating under the surname Bronstein—earned large sums of money by betting on horse races, and that a $75,000 investment ahead of the 2000 Melbourne Cup would be guaranteed, with any profits distributed to investors after.  However, the Matsons disappeared with all the funds shortly after the race.  Baron Matson was discovered living under an alias in 2015, and after lengthy litigation, was extradited to the U.S. to face prosecution.  USAO MDFL