PatrickPretty.com

Tag: Weston

  • Sean Healy Sentenced To Nearly 16 Years, Ordered To Pay $16.7 Million In Ponzi Case; Meanwhile, Trevor Cook Reportedly Has Plea Deal

    A federal judge has ordered a Florida man to spend nearly 16 years in prison and pay $16.7 million in restitution for fleecing investors in a Ponzi scheme.

    Sean Healy, 39, of Weston, scammed dozens of investors in Pennsylvania. He went on to live in the lap of luxury in Florida, acquiring a $2.4 million waterfront home, a Bentley, several Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches worth more than $2.3 million and jewelry worth $1.5 million.

    Meanwhile, Trevor Cook, charged criminally with mail fraud and tax evasion in a separate, $190 million Ponzi case in Minnesota, has struck a deal with prosecutors, the AP is reporting. Details about the deal are unclear, but the AP, citing comments by Bill Mauzy, Cook’s attorney, reported that Cook will plead guilty in the coming weeks.

    Healy became infamous in Florida, and was described as a smaller version of  former Wall Street titan Bernard Madoff and former Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein. He was charged in a 55-count indictment unsealed in Pennsylvania last year with multiple counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

    Initially Healy tried to sandbag prosecutors by providing “phony bank statements and phony trading records” to thwart a grand-jury probe, but the government didn’t buy it.

    “When the authentic records were obtained, they revealed that Healy had simply spent the money on his extravagant lifestyle and used some of it to pay back earlier investors who he defrauded between 2003 and 2008,” prosecutors said.

    Healy was sued separately by the SEC and the CFTC, which said he used investor funds to purchase gold bullion and “to lease a luxury suite at Miami’s BankAtlantic Arena.”

    For its part, the SEC said the sky was the limit for Healy.

    “Rather than investing the money as he promised, Sean Healy used investor funds to finance an extravagant lifestyle for himself and his family,” the SEC said.

  • INCREDIBLE: Yet Another Florida Man Indicted In Alleged Ponzi Scheme; Prosecutors Say Sean Healy Of Weston Bought A Bentley And ‘Several Ferraris’

    There has been nonstop news about Florida Ponzi schemes in the past 48 hours. Several indictments have been announced, the latest involving Sean Healy of Weston.

    Healy, 38, was charged in a 55-count indictment unsealed in Pennsylvania with multiple counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

    Prosecutors said Healy “spent the money to fund a lavish lifestyle.”

    Purchases included “numerous exotic vehicles and sport cars, including a Bentley and several Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches worth over $2.3 million,” prosecutors said.

    Obstruction of justice was charged because Healy thwarted a grand jury by providing “phony bank statements and phony trading records, indicating that the Pennsylvania investor’s money was used for legitimate trading activity in stocks and commodities,” prosecutors said.

    “When the authentic records were obtained, they revealed that Healy had simply spent the money on his extravagant lifestyle and used some of it to pay back earlier investors who he defrauded between 2003 and 2008,” prosecutors said.

    The grand-jury probe began in March, after an investor who had been scammed in Pennsylvania sued Healy and his wife, Shalese Rania Healy, in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that Pennsylvania investors had lost $14.6 million with Healy between April 2008 and February 2009.

    In July, the SEC and CFTC sued Healy in a case that alleged massive fraud. Also named in the complaints was Healy’s company, Sand Dollar Investing Partners LLC. Healy’s wife was named a relief defendant, meaning investigators believed she had received ill-gotten gains from the scheme.

    CFTC said investor funds also were used to purchase gold bullion and “to lease a luxury suite at Miami’s BankAtlantic Arena.”

    The sky was the limit, said an SEC official.

    “Rather than investing the money as he promised, Sean Healy used investor funds to finance an extravagant lifestyle for himself and his family,” said Antonia Chion, associate director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

    The July complaint by the SEC also alleged that Healy provided false information to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, which brought the obstruction charges and the other charges. The indictment was unsealed yesterday in Harrisburg, Pa.

    Dennis Pfannenschmidt, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, cataloged the spectacular purchases Healy allegedly made with investors’ funds.

    In addition to the automobles, Healy also bought a $2.4 million waterfront mansion furnished with more than $2 million of home improvements, plus $1.5 million in men’s and women’s jewelry, Pfannenschmidt’s office said.