Tag: Istvan Merchenthaler
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‘Phone Card’ Ponzi Schemer Caught With Pipe Bombs, IEDs And Thousands Of Rounds Of Ammunition Sentenced To Prison
Istvan 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…
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DEVELOPING STORY: Pipe Bombs Reportedly Found In Pennsylvania Storage Unit Rented In Name Of Man Arrested In Ponzi Scheme Case
DEVELOPING STORY: It is early and facts remain unclear. What’s known, according to local news reports, is that the FBI notified local police in the area of Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania that agents would be operating in the region. Late yesterday — sometime after 11 p.m. while some residents were sleeping — explosions were…
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FEDS: Istvan Merchenthaler Charged In Alleged ‘Prepaid Phone Cards’ Ponzi Scheme That Stole More Than $2 Million From Investors
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’re keeping a “Bubba Blue” notebook on how to have your Ponzi scheme, this alleged caper in Greater Philadelphia involving prepaid phone cards and purported ties to major retailers perhaps merits an entry . . . A 42-year-old Pennsylvania man has been charged in an alleged “prepaid phone cards” Ponzi scheme that…