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Tag: FBI

  • BRIEF: Feds Tweet Photo Of $20 Million Allegedly Found In Box Spring And Tied To TelexFree

    Federal prosecutors have Tweeted a photo of $20 million allegedly found stuffed in a box spring and linked to the massive TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid caper.

    The cash was found Jan. 4 by the Homeland Security Investigations branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

    Agents seized the cash and arrested Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, of Brazil. He remains jailed.

    In other HYIP news, apparent supporters of the Traffic Monsoon “program” have been using Twitter in the past 24 hours to ask President Trump to intervene in the SEC’s fraud case brought in July 2016.

    Traffic Monsoon was pitched as an “advertising” program. The SEC alleged the program operated as a Ponzi scheme.




  • After FBI Probe, Ju Ding Inc. (Juding) Exposed As Ponzi, Feds Say; Wenxing Huang Arrested

    From Twitter.
    From Twitter.

    A fraudster who used “fancy cars and parties” to dupe investors has been arrested after an FBI investigation, said Eileen M. Decker, the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California.

    Wenxing Huang, 33, of San Gabriel, has been charged with money-laundering and wire fraud in an alleged Ponzi scheme that gathered at least $6.9 million. He operated a Brea-based entity known as Ju Ding Inc. Huang also is known as “Di Peng” and “Fatty,” prosecutors said.

    At one point, Huang “orchestrated a Ju Ding holiday party . . . at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in which luxury items, including a Mercedes-Benz automobile were raffled off,” prosecutors said.

    “Records from the facility show that the event for 2,000 people cost more than $180,000,” prosecutors said.

    Ju Ding Inc. was known simply as “Juding” on Ponzi boards such as MoneyMakerGroup. The “program” also had a presence on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The scheme, prosecutors said, traded on false promises that investors’ “money would be used to invest in and develop technology based on graphene, which is a layer of pure carbon that is only one atom thick.”

    In November 2013, BehindMLM.com reported it had observed potential links between Juding and WCM777, a scam exposed by state regulators and the SEC in 2014. WCM777 purported to be in the cloud-computing business.

    A news release yesterday from Decker’s office on the Juding scheme did not reference WCM777, although the U.S. government is believed still to be investigating that “program.”

    From a statement by Decker’s office (italics added):

    As part of the scheme, Huang allegedly offered compensation to investors who recruited others, according to the complaint, which alleges that many investors received little, if any, return on their investments. However, approximately $2.2 million appears to have been returned to clients in what were essentially Ponzi payments.

    Huang is charged with money laundering for allegedly using approximately $1.2 million in investor funds to purchase the Diamond Bar home, which has since been sold.

     

  • CKB168 CASE: 2 Promoters Plead Guilty To Criminal Counts; 3 Others Face Trial

    recommendedreading1Two U.S.-based promoters of the noxious CKB168 cross-border pyramid scheme aimed at Chinese-Americans have pleaded guilty to wire-fraud, the office of U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California said.

    The SEC sued Cheong Wha “Heywood” Chang, 48, and his wife, Toni Chen, 47, in 2013. Federal prosecutors later charged them criminally, alleging they duped people into investing in a “Profit Reward Points” scam and then tried to obstruct the SEC investigation.

    Both reside in Hacienda Heights, Calif.

    “These defendants defrauded investors out of millions of dollars, and then they attempted to obstruct justice when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit,” Decker said. “The fraudulent conduct in this case has harmed many people, both in the United States and abroad.”

    The FBI handled the criminal probe.

    Various investment schemes with apparent footprints in Hong Kong have been pushed by online hucksters since the SEC moved against U.S. based Zeek Rewards in 2012. The agency said CKB and related entities purportedly sold children’s educational courses.

    What the purported opportunity really sold was the “false promise of easy wealth,” the SEC said in 2014.

    “Potential purchasers of CKB products must invest in CKB to get one of its courses,” the SEC said. “Defendants promise that those investors will earn exponential, risk-free returns. In addition to the course, each purchaser/investor receives “Profit Reward Points” (“Prpts”) with a purported value of $750.”

    From Decker’s office (italics added):

    Chang and Chen each admitted that made false statements to investors, including: CKB was a successful and profitable business; with each investment of $1,380, an investor would receive “Profit Reward Points” (PRPTs) that were worth $750 and could be exchanged for money; PRPTs would increase in value as a passive investment, even if investors did not actively recruit new investors to CKB or sell CKB courses; and PRPTs were analogous to, or could be converted into, pre-IPO or future shares of CKB that would increase greatly in value when CKB went public. These statements to investors were false.

    Also facing criminal charges of conspiracy and wire fraud from the SEC case are Wen Chen “Wendy” Lee, Daliang “David” Guo and Chih Hsuan “Kiki” Lin. They are scheduled to go on trial before U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in November, Decker’s office said.

    Fischer has set a February 2017 sentencing date for Chang and Chen.

    The SEC alleged that Guo was atop the pyramid.

    In 2014, the CKB prosecution and other pyramid-scheme cases made the SEC’s highlight reel.




  • ‘Phone Card’ Ponzi Schemer Caught With Pipe Bombs, IEDs And Thousands Of Rounds Of Ammunition Sentenced To Prison

    ponzinews1Istvan Merchenthaler, the “PhoneCard USA” Ponzi schemer who fabricated ties to Walmart and later was caught with pipe bombs, improvised explosive devices, a machine pistol and 16 other firearms spread across three states, has been sentenced to 140 months in federal prison.

    U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also ordered Merchenthaler to make restitution of more than $3.4 million, including more than $31,000 to the state of North Carolina “for the cost of a bomb-squad robot destroyed during an investigation of a storage facility containing several improvised explosive devices, Philly.com reported today.

    Prosecutors said yesterday that “several” IEDs linked to Merchenthaler in North Carolina exploded during a “render-safe” operation that resulted in damage to the robot and the storage facility.

    After the Ponzi case was brought in 2012, Merchenthaler jumped bail, stole two cars and fled from police. He later was captured in Maryland, investigators said.

    Here’s how prosecutors described the weaponry (italics added):

    Moreover, prior to and after jumping bail [in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania], Merchenthaler amassed approximately 17 firearms and over approximately 11,580 rounds of ammunition, as well as approximately 634 improvised explosive devices (“IEDs”), which he stored in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Maryland.  Approximately 67 of these IEDs were comprised of PVC pipe, almost all of which contained shrapnel in the form of nails, screws, or rocks.  The remaining approximately 567 IEDs were comprised of cardboard tubes in varying sizes and explosive power.  All of the IEDs – PVC and cardboard – were center primed with flash powder.  Merchenthaler drove these IEDs in his stolen vehicles to storage facilities in all three states.  During render safe procedures at a North Carolina storage facility, several of the IEDs exploded, resulting in damage to a bomb squad robot and the storage facility.




  • Would-Be Philadelphia Cop-Killer Claims ISIS Inspiration, Investigators Say

    Officer Jesse Hartnett survived an ambush by a suspect who claimed he was inspired by ISIS, police said. Photo source: Philadelphia Police Department, via Twitter.
    Officer Jesse Hartnett survived an ambush by a suspect who claimed he was inspired by ISIS, police said. Photo source: Philadelphia Police Department, via Twitter.

    Philadelphia police officer Jesse Hartnett has miraculously survived a late-night ambush in which a man who allegedly claimed allegiance to ISIS fired at least 11 shots at him and reached inside the patrol car to fire.

    The FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security immediately became involved in the probe, Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said. Hartnett, 33, a five-year veteran and former member of the Coast Guard, reportedly was hit at least three times at about 11:40 p.m. Thursday while in uniform and while operating a marked patrol car in West Philadelphia.

    Hartnett, seriously wounded, still pursued his attacker and returned fire, Ross said. The commissioner called the attack “absolutely evil.”

    The incident drew immediate comparisons to the horrifying and fatal ambush of two New York police officers in 2014. The New York attacks were dubbed assassinations, and Ross said Hartnett’s attacker tried to assassinate him.

    “This alleged intentional act of violence against an officer seeking to help a fellow citizen is horrifying and has no place in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement.

  • FBI: Convicted Murderer And Cross-Border E-Bullion Fraudster James Fayed Was Scamming The Scammers

    Source: FBI graphic from Jan. 4, 2016, retrospective on the E-Bullion case from 2008.
    Source: FBI graphic from Jan. 4, 2016, retrospective on the E-Bullion case from 2008.

    Still pushing Ponzi-board schemes in the age of cross-border fraud and terrorism?

    In a retrospective on the 2008 E-Bullion case, a retired FBI special agent says convicted murderer James Fayed was scamming HYIP scammers.

    “He just pocketed the money from all these high-yield investment programs after they ran,” said Maura Kelley. “And the money continued to come in because the word didn’t get out right away that they weren’t paying. And people were still investing.”

    In 2011, Fayed, then 48, was sentenced to death for the brutal contract slaying of Pamela Fayed, his wife and a potential witness against him. Indeed, the effective bagman for a host of Ponzi-board swindles ultimately turned to homicide in a bid to cover his tracks.

    Pamela was stabbed 13 times and left to die outside a Los Angeles-area parking garage.

    As the PP Blog reported in 2010, E-Bullion was a conduit for the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme.

    And, the Blog noted in 2011:

    E-Bullion has been linked to multiple Ponzi schemes, including Legisi, Gold Quest International and FEDI. The FEDI scheme has been linked to Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, also known as Michael Mixon. Ali Alishtari pleaded guilty in 2009 to financing terrorism and fleecing investors in the FEDI scheme.

    So, a man with murder in his heart also was supplying financial services to Ali Alishtari, an HYIP swindler who believed he was funding the purchase of night-vision goggles for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

    Upon the conviction of Alishtari, U.S. Attorney Peeet Bharaha of the Southern District of New York offered remarks. As the PP Blog noted, here is part of what Bharaha and the FBI said:

    “Alishtari . . . admitted that he stole millions from investors and knowingly financed what he believed to be tools of terror. In enriching himself, Alishtari displayed a deliberate disregard for the financial and personal security of others.”

    Investigators said Alishtari “facilitated the transfer of $152,000, with the understanding that the money would be used to fund training for terrorists.

    “In the latter half of 2006,” according to investigators, “Alishtari agreed to discreetly transfer these funds for an undercover officer, believing that the money was going to be used to purchase night vision goggles and other equipment for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. During his guilty plea, Alishtari admitted that he sent the money from the United States knowing that the funds were to be used to help finance alleged terrorist activity in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

    Read the FBI’s retrospective on E-Bullion, titled “Fool’s Gold.”

    See the PP Blog’s long-running tag archive on references to E-Bullion.




  • BULLETIN: Terrorist-Inspired Attack In Rochester, N.Y., Thwarted, FBI Says

    breakingnews725BULLETIN: (2nd Update 1:58 p.m. ET U.S.A.) The FBI has arrested a man from Rochester, N.Y., saying he planned to show his support for ISIS by carrying out a machete attack today at a bar/restaurant in the Rochester area. ISIS is a terrorist group also known as ISIL.

    Today is New Year’s Eve. Bars and restaurants will be packed, a circumstance that suggests the suspect wanted to maximize the terror he would create.

    On Dec. 29, Emanuel L. Lutchman, 25, went shopping at a Walmart store on Hudson Ave. in Rochester to acquire the equipment needed for the bloody attack, including two black ski masks, zip-ties, two knives, a machete, duct tape, ammonia and latex gloves, according to a chilling FBI affidavit that outlined the plan.

    Lutchman’s shopping companion, however, was an FBI informant, according to the affidavit.

    Prior to his arrest yesterday, according to the affidavit, Lutchman swore his allegiance on video to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and claimed credit for the attack.

    “The FBI thwarted Emanuel Lutchman’s intent to kill civilians on New Year’s Eve,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen of the Buffalo division.  “The FBI remains concerned about people overseas who use the Internet to inspire people in the United States to commit acts of violence where they live.”

    Lutchman allegedly told an FBI informant that he’d been in contact with an “Overseas Individual” who’d identified himself as an ISIS “brother.” This individual, according to the affidavit, allegedly told  Lutchman that being with ISIS was  “dream come true.”

    Lutchman, in December, “expressed his hatred for everything in America” and the supposed infidels here and his desire to go to Syria to join ISIS, according to the affidavit.

    Also in December, Lutchman talked about “doing assassinations” and using “firearms” and a “pressure-cooker bomb,” according to the affidavit.

    “I am ready to lose my family” to live under the ISIS caliphate, Lutchman allegedly said. At one point, according to the affidavit, he pointed out the bar/restaurant as a potential attack target and said “he knew someone with a machete and that his wife has a dagger.”

    The zip-ties were needed in case they “kidnap[ped] somebody,” Lutchman allegedly said.

    After the Walmart shopping trip, Lutchman allegedly said, “It’s going to get real after this. “It’s just you, me and the Lord. We gotta do this, we gotta do this precise.”

    Continuing, Lutchman allegedly said, “If we grab somebody, they can’t live. They may identify the vehicle. They can’t live.”

    He has been charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

    “This New Year’s Eve prosecution underscores the threat of ISIL even in upstate New York but demonstrates our determination to immediately stop any who would cause harm in its name,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. of the Western District of New York.

    Rochester, in the western section of the state, has a population of about 210,000 and is New York’s third-largest city, behind New York City and Buffalo. Rochester is about the same size as San Bernardino, Calif., which was subjected to a terrorist  attack on Dec. 2 that killed 14 people.

    Read the statement on the Lutchman arrest by the Justice Department.

    Read the FBI affidavit.

  • Terrorist Incident At London Subway Station, Scotland Yard Says

    breakingnews725BULLETIN: London Metropolitan Police are investigating multiple stabbings at Leytonstone Underground station and are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

    Scotland Yard has identified the weapon as a knife, but the deck of a story in the Telegraph reports it was a machete and that a male suspect had yelled, “This is for Syria.”

    From an early statement by Scotland Yard, attributed to Com. Richard Walton, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (italics added):

    “We are treating this as a terrorist incident. I would urge the public to remain calm, but alert and vigilant.

    “The threat from terrorism remains at severe, which means that a terrorist attack is highly likely.

    “I would appeal to anyone who was in the vicinity of Leytonstone underground station earlier this evening at around 7pm who saw anything suspicious to call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

    “Anyone who may have captured video or photographic footage of the incident is also urged to make contact with the Counter Terrorism Command via the Anti-Terrorist Hotline.”

    The suspect, who is in custody in East London and whose name has not been released, was subdued by an officer with a TASER, Scotland Yard said.

    “One man has sustained serious knife injuries; these are not believed at this stage to be life-threatening,” the agency said. “Two other people have sustained minor injuries.”

    Today’s London incident occurred three days after 14 people were killed in a suspected terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif.

    “This is now a federal terrorism investigation, led by the FBI,” FBI Director James Comey said yesterday about the San Bernardino mass shooting. “The reason for that is that the investigation so far has developed indications of radicalization by the killers and of the potential inspiration by foreign terrorist organizations.”

    In a statement, the White House said this evening that President Obama will address the American people tomorrow at 8 p.m. from the Oval Office.

    Here is the full statement (italics added):

    On Sunday, December 6th at 8:00PM EST, President Obama will address the nation from the Oval Office about the steps our government is taking to fulfill his highest priority: keeping the American people safe. The President will provide an update on the ongoing investigation into the tragic attack in San Bernardino. The President will also discuss the broader threat of terrorism, including the nature of the threat, how it has evolved, and how we will defeat it. He will reiterate his firm conviction that ISIL will be destroyed and that the United States must draw upon our values – our unwavering commitment to justice, equality and freedom – to prevail over terrorist groups that use violence to advance a destructive ideology.

  • STATS: High Interest Globally In Criminal Probe Involving Payza And Obopay

    On Oct. 19, the PP Blog received traffic from 76 countries. This graphic reflects the Top 10 on that date and suggests high global interest in a criminal probe involving Payza and Obopay.
    On Oct. 19, the PP Blog received traffic from 76 countries. This graphic reflects the Top 10 on that date and suggests high global interest in a criminal probe involving Payza and Obopay.

    On the past four Mondays — Oct. 26, Nov. 2, Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 — the PP Blog averaged viewership from 32 countries, according to a compilation of data from Jetpack summarized by the Blog. These numbers are typical. On any given day, viewers from between 25 and 40 countries arrive here.

    But on Oct. 19 — also a Monday and the day the Blog reported that a criminal investigation involving the Payza and Obopay payment processors was under way — the Blog’s viewership shot up to 76 countries. That’s nearly 40 percent of the nations in the world. Viewers from other countries followed Payza- and Obopay-related content in subsequent days, suggesting that people in an even higher percentage of the world’s nations are concerned about the probe.

    As the Blog reported on Oct. 21, the targets of the investigation are unclear and much info has been redacted from public filings.

    The Blog is reporting today that Payza’s name again has appeared in a filing by the court-appointed receiver in the 2012 Zeek Rewards’ Ponzi- and pyramid scheme case. The filing was dated yesterday and includes these lines (italics added):

    The Receiver Team continues to investigate and pursue outstanding funds from Payza, Payment World, Solid Trust Pay, and Cyberprofit and is working with various government agencies and McGuireWoods Consulting in pursuit of these assets.

    Millions of dollars tied to U.S.-based Zeek may be in Moldova, according to receiver Kenneth D. Bell. Moldova is a neighbor to Ukraine, a world hot spot described by the Financial Times as “war torn.”

    Payza, its predecessor AlertPay and SolidTrustPay are Ponzi-forum darlings operating in an era of almost unimaginable cross-border fraud that frequently has an MLM or direct-sales component. The numbers are truly staggering — so high that agencies such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have become involved in investigations.

    Money moves across borders in a flash these days, including the borders of nations under terrorist threat. Perhaps especially in the HYIP sphere, the aims of the “program” operators and the identities of the recipients of the cash may be particularly murky.

    Information filed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in the 2010 “Pathway To Prosperity” case alleges the P2P scheme spread to at least 120 countries, “all of the permanently inhabited continents of the world” and cost investors losses in 48 of the 50 U.S. states.

    Though uncharged, AlertPay and SolidTrustPay both are referenced in the P2P case, as well as the AdSurfDaily case from 2008. Ponzi forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup also are referenced in U.S. filings.

    The office of U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia says it expects to release more information on the Obopay/Payza matter “shortly after” Jan. 22, 2016.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.

     

     

     

  • Another ‘Ken Russo’ Disaster: Team Of Feds Hammers Alleged Operator Of ‘Program’ Pushed By Ponzi-Forum Legend

    breakingnews725UPDATED 7:51 EDT U.S.A. Let’s start by giving you the roster of federal agencies involved in the investigations and prosecutions of William M. Apostelos, 54, and Connie M. Apostelos, 50, his wife:

    (1.) The Office of U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio. (2.) Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. (3.) The FBI. (4.) The U.S. Postal Inspection Service. (5.) U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. (6.) U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration.

    In addition to the six federal agencies, the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Securities joined in the probe that uncovered an alleged $70 million Ponzi scheme.

    So, how does Ponzi-forum legend “Ken Russo” fit into all of this? Here we’ll turn to a Nov. 1, 2014, story at BehindMLM.com. The story quotes “Ken Russo” on yet-another scam he is pushing. (Italics added.)

    I am very firm in my belief that this is the real deal and I get no sense whatsoever that any kind of scam is intended here. It is very seldom that we can find an opportunity as transparent and viable as the Genesis Acquisitions International, LLC. investment club.

    It turned out that William Apostelos was linked to Genesis Acquisitions and a sorry cast of other companies, including WMA Enterprises LLC, Midwest Green Resources LLC and Roan Capital.

    Connie Apostelos, also known as Connie Coleman, also operated and oversaw multiple companies in the Dayton area, including Coleman Capital Inc. and Silver Bridle Racing LLC, prosecutors said.

    “These companies were allegedly operated through improper use of investor funds to William Apostelos’ companies,” Stewart’s office said.

    From the statement (italics added):

    William and Connie Apostelos are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, eight counts of mail fraud and 13 counts of wire fraud, each crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison. They were also charged with two counts of money laundering, which each carry a potential 10-year prison sentence. They were also charged with one count of theft or embezzlement from employee benefit plan, which carries a maximum penalty of up to five years imprisonment. Finally, Connie Apostelos is charged separately with one count of making a false statement, which carries a maximum penalty of up to five years imprisonment.

    See the PP Blog’s archive of story references to “Ken Russo,” perhaps the most prolific Ponzi pitchman on the planet.

    Visit a recent “Ken Russo”-related thread at the RealScam.com antiscam forum for a “program” known as “MyBinaryProfits.”

  • Filho Listed As Inmate At Federal Detention Center

    Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho exits a gold Lamborghini in the area of Pine Street in Orlando, Fla. Source: DFRF promo on YouTube, c. April 2015.
    Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho exits a gold Lamborghini in the area of Pine Street in Orlando, Fla. Source: DFRF promo on YouTube, c. March 2015.

    UPDATED 8:41 A.M. EDT U.S.A. DFRF Enterprises’ and Platinum Trade Bancorp figure Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho this morning is listed as an inmate at FDC Miami, a federal detention facility.

    His inmate registration number is 08217-104 and he is listed in federal Bureau of Prison records as “Daniel F Rojo Filho.” Some apparent DFRF apologists reportedly have claimed in recent days that Filho, 47, had been released from federal custody and that the DFRF “program” alleged to have gathered nearly $23 million would resume business as usual.

    Filho was arrested July 21 in Boca Raton, Fla., on a warrant from federal court in Massachusetts. He is accused of wire fraud in his alleged operation of DFRF, which the SEC has described as a pyramid- and Ponzi scheme that targeted “Spanish and Portuguese-speaking communities in Massachusetts, Florida, and elsewhere in the U.S.”

    Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho. Source: DFRF promo on YouTube.
    Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho. Source: DFRF promo on YouTube.

    Filho is expected to be taken to Massachusetts by the U.S. Marshals Service to face the charge there. It is unclear whether a bail sum has been set for the accused scammer. He is a citizen of Brazil, according to U.S. court filings.

    Scheduling details are unknown. The FBI is leading the criminal probe, with the SEC heading up the civil investigation. DFRF is alleged to have gathered on the order of $23 million fraudulently, putting investors who may speak Spanish or Portuguese in harm’s way.

    Records at the Federal Election Commission show a 2012 donation from Filho to the reelection campaign of President Obama. Those records list his then-employer as Platinum Trade Bancorp.

    DFRF began selling “memberships” last year, the SEC said on July 2.

    “DFRF promoted the investment opportunity through online videos in which Filho falsely claimed that the company had registered with the SEC and its stock would be publicly traded.  As DFRF’s marketing reach widened, membership sales dramatically increased from under $100,000 in June 2014 to more than $4 million in March 2015 alone.”

    Filho has piled up an assortment of expensive automobiles by siphoning millions of dollars from DFRF investors, according to the SEC. At least one of them is a gold Lamborghini that was seen cruising the streets of Boca Raton earlier this year.

    In 2010, Filho was a figure in the Evolution Marketing Group/Finanzas Forex Ponzi case. Some of the money was tied to the narcotics trade.

    The “Fernandes” part of his name sometimes has been spelled “Fernandez.”