SENIOR FRAUD CAVALCADE CONTINUES: Alleged ‘Airplane Parts’ Ponzi Scheme Lands 78-Year-Old Man In Florida Jail; Roger Green And Alleged Accomplice Charged With Racketeering
Saying that money-laundering and securities fraud were part of a $7 million Ponzi scheme involving aircraft parts, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has arrested two men, charging them with racketeering.
Roger Green, 78, remains in custody at the Broward County Jail. Alleged accomplice Victor Brown, 55, of Hollywood, was freed after posting bail. The men were arrested Wednesday.
Green and Brown were accused of obtaining funds fraudulently from investors and using proceeds from the scheme “to gamble and for the purchase of expensive cars and other items.”
The arrests, FDLE said, came as a result of “Operation Usual Suspects,” which began in 2009 and focused on a company known as Military Air Parts International.
Web records tie the men to a now-defunct site known as C130Spares. Among other things, the site featured a photo of a U.S. Air Force C130 transport plane with the words “Welcome Aboard” appearing in the image.
“You will soon find how committed we are to the aviation industry,” the site promised. “We serve the C130 Military and L100 Commercial aircrafts exclusively! As founders, we look forward to supporting your parts and flight requirements world wide.”
But “Green and Brown did not acquire, nor were they in possession of, the aircraft parts they were offering to sell,” FDLE said. “The few aircraft parts they did obtain were used to acquire funds from additional victims.”
All in all, the swindle ensnared 24 “victim investors in Florida and elsewhere,” operating between 2004 and 2007, FDLE said.
Investors were told Green and Brown could generate returns of up to 18 percent within three to six months, FDLE said.