Tag: PhoneCard USA
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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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UPDATE: Alleged ‘PhoneCard USA’ Ponzi Schemer Once Arrested In Brazil On Narcotics Charges Now Charged In United States With Possessing ‘Improvised Explosive Devices’
Istvan Merchenthaler, the U.S.-based alleged “PhoneCard USA” Ponzi schemer who reportedly was arrested on narcotics-trafficking charges in Brazil a decade ago and later was linked to pipe bombs found in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, has been indicted on charges of possessing “approximately 60 plastic PVC pipe improvised explosive devices” plus “approximately 400 cardboard tube IEDs,…
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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…