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Tag: Wifredo A. Ferrer

UPDATE: Promoters May Be Lobbying TelexFree To Keep Ponzi Scheme Intact

Updated 8:36 a.m. ET (Feb. 26, U.S.A.) Some TelexFree promoters may be lobbying the company and Brazil-based executive Carlos Costa to keep its original Ponzi scheme intact, according to a Blog post (in Portuguese) observed by the PP Blog this morning. BehindMLM.com reported on Feb. 19 that TelexFree may be in the process of changing…

Feb 25, 2014
BULLETIN: George Theodule, HYIP Ponzi Huckster Identified In 2008 By SEC, Arrested On Criminal Charges

George Louis Theodule, identified by the SEC in a 2008 civil case as a multimillion-dollar Ponzi huckster and affinity fraudster largely targeting the Haitian community through so-called “investment clubs,” now has been arrested on criminal charges, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida said. Investors were duped into believing Theodule’s HYIP “program” through entities…

Aug 26, 2013
UPDATE: AdSurfDaily-Like Weirdness Increasingly Creeps Into Lawsuit Against United States By ASD Pitchmen Dwight Owen Schweitzer And Todd Disner, Who Now Are Promoting Zeek Rewards

Federal prosecutors went to court in the Southern District of Florida today, saying AdSurfDaily figures Todd Disner and Dwight Owen Schweitzer were confusing their November 2011 lawsuit against the government with two forfeiture actions filed in the District of Columbia by federal prosecutors and the U.S. Secret Service in the ASD Ponzi case. An assistant…

Jun 25, 2012
BULLETIN: FLORIDA — AGAIN: CFTC Says Civil, Criminal Charges Filed Against Miami Resident Oscar Hernandez In Alleged Commodity-Pool Ponzi Scheme In Which A Customer Was Check-Waving Cheerleader

BULLETIN: Civil and criminal charges were filed in Florida today against Miami resident Oscar Hernandez, amid allegations he was operating a $3 million Ponzi scheme through Midway Trading Company LLC and Conquest Investment Group Inc., the CFTC said. The office of U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District Of Florida said Hernandez has…

Sep 30, 2011
BULLETIN: Florida Attorney/CPA Lorn Leitman Sentenced To More Than 17 Years In Ponzi And Fraud Caper; Federal Judge Orders Upward Departure From Sentencing Guidelines, Saying Lawyer Targeted Elderly Investors, Friends And Military Members

BULLETIN: A 61-year-old Florida attorney and CPA who targeted elderly investors, retirees, friends and members of the military in companion fraud schemes has been sentenced to 210 months in federal prison. Although sentencing guidelines suggested that Lorn Leitman would serve a maximum of 151 months, U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke of the Southern District of…

Jul 7, 2011
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Paranoia-Maker: FBI Undercover Sting In Florida Leads To Criminal, Civil Charges Against 5 In Alleged Penny-Stock Capers; Agents Established ‘Phony’ Consulting Company

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: An undercover sting by the FBI in Florida has led to criminal and civil charges against five alleged penny-stock fraudsters in Florida, Texas, Nevada and California. The sting featured a phony “consulting” company created by the FBI, authorities said. News about the make-believe consultancy followed on the heels of news…

Jun 30, 2011
FLORIDA — AGAIN: Miami Attorney Awaiting Sentencing In Ponzi Scheme Charged With Stealing From Employee Benefit Plan

A Miami attorney awaiting sentencing in a Ponzi scheme case now has been accused of stealing from an employee benefit plan, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida said. Lorn Leitman, 61, was charged with stealing from the South Florida Emergency Physicians P.A. Profit Sharing Plan. He faces up to 20 years in federal…

Jun 22, 2011
KABOOM! SEC, Feds Target Alleged Money-Laundering Operation In Costa Rica; 6 People From Various Countries Charged Criminally; 7 Charged Civilly In Coordinated Probe Of ‘Pump And Dump’ Schemes

BULLETIN: Two days after Southern Florida’s top federal prosecutor warned that offshore fraudsters who targeted Americans had no safe haven, six people from various parts of the world who allegedly ran or contributed to a pump-and-dump scheme that used the services of a money-laundering operation in Costa Rica have been charged criminally, authorities said. The…

Feb 18, 2011
Southern Florida’s Top Federal Prosecutor Says Offshore Biz-Op Fraudsters Have No Safe Havens; United States Throws Down Gauntlet To Criminal Hucksters

A top federal prosecutor said today that the United States would vigorously investigate and prosecute “business opportunity” fraudsters who target Americans. “This is true even if they operate from outside of the United States,” said Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “International law enforcement cooperation eliminates safe havens for those…

Feb 16, 2011
Prisoner Who Ran Scam From Florida Jail Sentenced To 21 Years In Federal Prison; Willoughby Farr of West Palm Beach Operated ‘Cramming’ Scheme

A Florida man who operated a long-distance billing scam from the West Palm Beach County Jail has been sentenced to 262 months in federal prison. Willoughby Farr, 46, used three Palm Beach companies to pull off the “cramming” scam in which consumers were billed for calls they did not make, prosecutors said. He also faces…

Sep 3, 2010
BULLETIN: Yet Another Florida Ponzi Scheme; SEC Accuses Luis Felipe Perez Of Operating $40 Million Fraud Backed By Fake Diamonds And Bogus ‘Pawn Shops’

EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s one for your Bubba Blue notebook on the various ways to have a Ponzi scheme, as opposed to shrimp. UPDATED 5:50 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A Miami man has been charged by the SEC with gathering $40 million in a Ponzi scheme, pocketing $6 million for himself and telling investors they were helping…

Jun 2, 2010