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Tag: La Cosa Nostra

  • URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: ALLEGED ‘PUPPETMASTERS’ EXPOSED: Feds Charge 5 Attorneys, 2 Mob Figures And CPA In Extortion Scheme That Led To ‘Illegal Takeover’ Of FirstPlus Financial Group Inc.; Scheme Featured ‘Fraudulent SEC Filings,’ U.S. Attorney Says

    URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Thirteen people have been arrested, including five attorneys, a CPA, two alleged mob associates and others in a spectacular case that alleges the mafia and its underlings illegally took over FirstPlus Financial Group Inc., a publicly held company in Texas.

    “[T]he defendants gave new meaning to ‘corporate takeover’ by looting a publicly traded company to benefit their criminal enterprise,” said U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey.

    Charged were attorneys William Maxwell, Cory Leshner, David Adler, Gary McCarthy and Donald Manno. Their ages and addresses were not immediately clear. Howard Drossner, whom federal prosecutors described as a CPA, also was charged.

    Nicodemo S. Scarfo, an alleged member of La Cosa Nostra and the Lucchese organized crime family, also was charged, as was Salvatore Pelullo, an alleged LCN and Lucchese family associate.

    “Through rampant self dealing, fraudulent SEC filings and more traditional mob methods, the defendants allegedly stole $12 million from shareholders,” Fishman said. “Particularly in these economic times, investors should be free to invest in public companies without fear that violent criminal organizations are their puppetmasters.  And the public deserves to rely with confidence on corporate officials and professionals whose positions require them to act in the best interest of shareholders, not members of organized crime.”

    “The indictment alleges that Mr. Scarfo and Mr. Pelullo used economic extortion and threats of violence to seize and maintain control of a publicly traded company, successfully removing its entire existing board of directors and management,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.  “Once in control, they allegedly used their criminal enterprise to extract millions of dollars from the company to fund their lavish lifestyles.”

    Breuer is head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

    Read the Feds’ news release for other names and details.

  • FBI: ‘Sovereign Citizen Domestic Extremists Throughout The United States’ Are Perpetrating Mortgage Fraud And ‘Debt Elimination Schemes’ And ‘Coaching’ Others To Do So

    Is your purported debt coach or foreclosure-relief expert a “sovereign citizen” with an avowed contempt for the U.S. government and banking in general? Is he (or she) actually trying to recruit you into a criminal scheme that only will add to your stress? Is your last disposable dollar going into the pockets of a domestic extremist posing as a patriotic problem-solver and putting you in the position of having to explain incomprehensible legal filings to a judge?

    A new report by the FBI “indicates a continued effort by Sovereign Citizen domestic extremists throughout the United States to perpetrate and train others in the use of debt elimination schemes,” the agency said.

    “Victims pay advance fees to perpetrators espousing themselves as ‘sovereign citizens’ or ‘tax deniers’ who promise to train them in methods to reduce or eliminate their debts,” the agency said.

    “While they also target credit card debt, they are primarily targeting mortgages and commercial loans, unsecured debts, and automobile loans,” the FBI said. “They are involved in coaching people on how to file fraudulent liens, proof of claim, entitlement orders, and other documents to prevent foreclosure and forfeiture of property.”

    The finding is included in a 29-page report on mortgage fraud released this month. Sovereign citizens, though, are hardly the only force driving the fraud, according to the report.

    “Mortgage fraud enables perpetrators to earn high profits through illicit activity that poses a relative low risk for discovery,” the FBI said. “Mortgage fraud perpetrators include licensed/registered and non-licensed/registered mortgage brokers, lenders, appraisers, underwriters, accountants, real estate agents, settlement attorneys, land developers, investors, builders, bank account representatives, and trust account representatives.

    “There have been numerous instances in which various organized criminal groups were involved in mortgage fraud activity,” the FBI said. “Asian, Balkan, Armenian, La Cosa Nostra, Russian, and Eurasian organized crime groups have been linked to various mortgage fraud schemes, such as short sale fraud and loan origination schemes,” the FBI said.

    Read the full FBI report.