Thursday, June 23, 2016
Marquet International's White Collar Rogue's Gallery Updated With a Dozen New Profiles
Marquet International's White Collar Rogue's Gallery has been updated to include a dozen new major fraudster profiles. Read all about these notorious white collar rogues on our website here. Let us know if you have a worthy infamous candidate or two for our next update by emailing us at info@marquetinternational.com. Enjoy!
Saturday, June 18, 2016
County Deputy Sheriff In Virginia Sentenced For Embezzling $229K
Public corruption is endemic, even in law enforcement circles. From the Washington Post on 6/17/2016:
Claiming not to remember the past decade was not a good way try to escape hard time — at least not for Frank Pearson, a former Loudoun County sheriff’s deputy sentenced Friday to three years in prison for embezzlement.
Pearson, who from 2010 to 2013 stole $229,000 in forfeited assets he was charged with overseeing, maintained throughout his trial that he had amnesia covering 10 years.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who presided over Pearson’s bench trial and found him guilty, said Friday that he does not believe the claim.
“You may have convinced yourself that you don’t remember these events,” Ellis said, but “your claim of amnesia doesn’t resonate with me.”
Defense attorneys said before the trial that in October 2013, after Pearson’s wife found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor of the family’s home, he woke up thinking the year was 2001 and he was unable to recognize friends he had met after that year.
Ellis noted Friday that a physician was unable to confirm Pearson’s memory loss and had deemed the ex-deputy fit to stand trial.
“I grew up in a society where corruption was rife,” said Ellis, who was born in Colombia. “Corruption by government can kill a society.”
Prosecutors noted that not all of the lost funds have been accounted for. The night before he was due to meet with supervisors who had grown suspicious, Pearson was seen leaving the office with two boxes that another deputy said contained rolls of coins.
...
Read the whole story here.
Claiming not to remember the past decade was not a good way try to escape hard time — at least not for Frank Pearson, a former Loudoun County sheriff’s deputy sentenced Friday to three years in prison for embezzlement.
Pearson, who from 2010 to 2013 stole $229,000 in forfeited assets he was charged with overseeing, maintained throughout his trial that he had amnesia covering 10 years.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who presided over Pearson’s bench trial and found him guilty, said Friday that he does not believe the claim.
“You may have convinced yourself that you don’t remember these events,” Ellis said, but “your claim of amnesia doesn’t resonate with me.”
Defense attorneys said before the trial that in October 2013, after Pearson’s wife found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor of the family’s home, he woke up thinking the year was 2001 and he was unable to recognize friends he had met after that year.
“I grew up in a society where corruption was rife,” said Ellis, who was born in Colombia. “Corruption by government can kill a society.”
Prosecutors noted that not all of the lost funds have been accounted for. The night before he was due to meet with supervisors who had grown suspicious, Pearson was seen leaving the office with two boxes that another deputy said contained rolls of coins.
...
Read the whole story here.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Illinois Woman Charged With Embezzling $370K From Assisted Living Facility
Another shameless example of brazen fraud involving a bookkeeper willing to fleece her employer with no apparent concern about the consequences. From WLS 860 AM on 6/17/16:
A north suburban woman was charged Wednesday in an embezzlement scheme that allegedly stole more than $370,000 from Econocare, a Lincolnwood assisted living company she worked for.
A north suburban woman was charged Wednesday in an embezzlement scheme that allegedly stole more than $370,000 from Econocare, a Lincolnwood assisted living company she worked for.
Shawna Wolff-Geisler, 41, of Des Plaines was charged with a felony counts of continuing financial crimes enterprise and theft, according to a statement from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Wolff-Geisler was charged following an investigation initiated by the Lincolnwood Police Department and the financial crimes units of the Cook County sheriff’s police and Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office after she was terminated from the company in 2015, according to the statement.
Prosecutors said Wolff-Geisler was fired from Econocare in August 2015, after which a financial inspection was preformed. The inspection allegedly revealed numerous suspicious checks were written from the company’s bank account and made payable to Wolff-Geisler. An investigation found about 80 checks were written to Wolff-Geisler with a forged signature of the company’s CEO, prosecutors said.
...
Read the whole story here.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Marquet Internatinonal's Resume Liar's Club Now Updated With A Dozen New Profiles
Marquet International's popular Resume Liar's Club compendium has been updated on our website with a dozen new profiles. We provide these examples in order to remind our clients how important it is to conduct regular background checks on employees and to thoroughly vet key officers and directors. Marquet International provides clients with hand crafted due diligence reports on principals, officers, directors and other key executives and corporate entities in corporate financing transactions, mergers & acquisitions, know your customer investigations, litigation support efforts and pre-employment screening, to name a few.
Check out the updated Resume Liars Club here.
Check out the updated Resume Liars Club here.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Former Bookkeeper Of Oklahoma Oil Pipe Supply Company Charged With Embezzling $7 Million
From Tulsa World on 6/10/2016:
A former bookkeeper at an Oklahoma City oil field pipe company has been charged by federal authorities in a $7 million embezzlement scheme that also involved mall kiosks in several states.
Rodney Alan Hager, 38, worked at J&B Pipe Supply Co. from 2007 to 2014. He also owned Mall Concepts of Oklahoma Inc., which operated mall kiosks in Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Georgia and other states.
A former bookkeeper at an Oklahoma City oil field pipe company has been charged by federal authorities in a $7 million embezzlement scheme that also involved mall kiosks in several states.
Rodney Alan Hager, 38, worked at J&B Pipe Supply Co. from 2007 to 2014. He also owned Mall Concepts of Oklahoma Inc., which operated mall kiosks in Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Georgia and other states.
Federal prosecutors said Hager, of Choctaw, wired money from J&B Pipe Supply to several bank accounts under his control, including the Mall Concepts’ account. They said Hager opened credit card counts in the name of one of the owners of the pipe supply company, paying off the credit cards with money from corporate accounts.
He also took signed, blank company checks intended to pay suppliers and deposited them into his bank accounts or cashed them, prosecutors said.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Former City Finance Manager In California Reportedly Embezzled Nearly $5 Million From Municipality
From the Orange County Register on 6/8/2016:
City officials have revealed that Placentia’s former finance services manager allegedly embezzled nearly $5 million from the financially fragile city – about $600,000 more than first believed.
Initially, authorities believed Michael Minh Nguyen had embezzled $4.3 million, but the ongoing investigation has uncovered an additional $600,000 in missing funds. Authorities say they have seized $2.7 million of that money.
“The city is working diligently to seek court authorization to have the funds transferred back,” Placentia City Administrator Damien Arrula wrote in an email Wednesday night.
Also, a $1 million insurance policy may help the city recoup additional money.
“The forensic audit is estimated to be completed in July, at which point in time the city will have sufficient information to prepare its insurance claim,” Arrula said. “After the submittal, there is a review process, which will be conducted by the insurance carrier. ”
Prosecutors allege that Nguyen made 17 illegal wire transfers from city funds from January 2014 to April 2016 to several accounts belonging to him and others. Prosecutors initially believed the embezzlement scheme began in April 2015.
Councilman Scott Nelson said he is optimistic that the city will recover most of the missing funds.
“It looks like we are going to be very fortunate to get most of the taxpayers’ money back.” Nelson said. “That’s really thanks to our staff and the D.A. doing a great, great job.”
...
Read the whole story here.
City officials have revealed that Placentia’s former finance services manager allegedly embezzled nearly $5 million from the financially fragile city – about $600,000 more than first believed.
Initially, authorities believed Michael Minh Nguyen had embezzled $4.3 million, but the ongoing investigation has uncovered an additional $600,000 in missing funds. Authorities say they have seized $2.7 million of that money.
“The city is working diligently to seek court authorization to have the funds transferred back,” Placentia City Administrator Damien Arrula wrote in an email Wednesday night.
Also, a $1 million insurance policy may help the city recoup additional money.
“The forensic audit is estimated to be completed in July, at which point in time the city will have sufficient information to prepare its insurance claim,” Arrula said. “After the submittal, there is a review process, which will be conducted by the insurance carrier. ”
Prosecutors allege that Nguyen made 17 illegal wire transfers from city funds from January 2014 to April 2016 to several accounts belonging to him and others. Prosecutors initially believed the embezzlement scheme began in April 2015.
Councilman Scott Nelson said he is optimistic that the city will recover most of the missing funds.
“It looks like we are going to be very fortunate to get most of the taxpayers’ money back.” Nelson said. “That’s really thanks to our staff and the D.A. doing a great, great job.”
...
Read the whole story here.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Fugitive Indicted In Massive $54 Million Embezzlement From Connecticut Investment Firm
From The Greenwich Time on 6/2/2016:
A 44-year-old Greenwich man - on the run since last April - has been indicted in in connection with embezzling $54 million from the private equity firm for which he worked.
Iftikar Ali Ahmed, aka Ifty, 44, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston on four counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements on income tax returns. Ahmed is currently a fugitive from justice. He was charged in a separate scheme in April 2015, and fled the country while on pre-trial release.
The indictment alleges that between 2004 and April 2015, Ahmed embezzled more than $54 million from the private equity firm for which he worked as a general partner and fund manager.
The indictment further alleges that Ahmed used the proceeds of his fraud to purchase a $9.6 million residence in Greenwich and a luxury condominium in New York for approximately $8.6 million.
‘An elaborate scheme’
According to U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said, “Ahmed embezzled the money through an elaborate scheme to defraud in which he submitted false invoices, substantially overstated the prices of international business deals he orchestrated on behalf of his employer, and by setting up fraudulent bank accounts in the name of the private equity firm for which he worked and the companies in which his employer invested.”
On one occasion in November 2014, it is alleged that Ahmed recommended to his private equity firm that it invest $20 million in an international company and justified the price by submitting fraudulent financial documents. At the same time, Ahmed informed the international company that his employer had agreed to purchase shares for $2 million.
The indictment alleges that Ahmed then directed the private equity firm to wire $2 million to another company and the remaining $18 million to an account that Ahmed falsely claimed was the company’s account, but actually belonged to Ahmed.
On Jan. 12, 2015, Ahmed transferred the $18 million in fraud proceeds to his spouse and a portion of these funds was used to purchase a luxury condominium in New York City, according to the indictment.
According to The Hindu, Ahmed and another Indian-origin entrepreneur were charged in April 2015 for insider trading for making over a million dollars in illegal profits through the proposed acquisition of Cooper Tire and Rubber by India’s Apollo Tyres. Amit Kanodia, of Massachusetts, a 47-year-old entrepreneur and private equity investor, and his long-time friend Iftikar Ahmed, a general partner at a venture capital firm were charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the acquisition of American company Cooper by Apollo was never completed, the SEC complaint said that Cooper Tire’s stock price jumped 41 per cent when the acquisition was announced in June 2013.
The SEC alleges that Kanodia tipped Ahmed and another friend prior to the acquisition announcement after learning of the deal from his wife, who was Apollo’s general counsel at the time, more than two months before the merger was announced.
Assets frozen
In May 2015, the SEC obtained a court order freezing $55,089,446 million of Ahmed's assets.
According to the SEC's complaint, Ahmed had Oak funds pay $20 million for a $2 million stake in an Asian e-commerce joint venture in December 2014, pocketing the $18 million difference for himself. It alleges that in another investment in August 2014, an Oak fund overpaid for shares in a China-based e-commerce company, allowing Ahmed to pocket $2 million. In a third transaction, the complaint alleges that in 2013, Ahmed advised an Oak fund to invest $25 million in a U.S.-based e-commerce company without disclosing his interest in I-Cubed Domains LLC, which had a significant stake in the same company. The following year, at Ahmed's advice, the Oak fund paid $7.5 million to I-Cubed to buy shares in the company that I-Cubed had acquired for $2 million. The complaint alleges that Ahmed again failed to disclose his ties to I-Cubed, violating his duty to act in the best interest of the Oak fund investors and avoid self-dealing.
According to Bloomberg, Ahmed received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1999 and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi in 1993. He was a general partner at Oak Investment Partners, spent three years with Fidelity Ventures as senior associate and worked in the private equity and special situations group of Goldman Sachs.
What he faces
If Ahmed is captured - and convicted - the charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 on each count.
The charge of making false statements in income tax returns provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million on each count.
A 44-year-old Greenwich man - on the run since last April - has been indicted in in connection with embezzling $54 million from the private equity firm for which he worked.
Iftikar Ali Ahmed, aka Ifty, 44, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston on four counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements on income tax returns. Ahmed is currently a fugitive from justice. He was charged in a separate scheme in April 2015, and fled the country while on pre-trial release.
The indictment alleges that between 2004 and April 2015, Ahmed embezzled more than $54 million from the private equity firm for which he worked as a general partner and fund manager.
The indictment further alleges that Ahmed used the proceeds of his fraud to purchase a $9.6 million residence in Greenwich and a luxury condominium in New York for approximately $8.6 million.
‘An elaborate scheme’
According to U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said, “Ahmed embezzled the money through an elaborate scheme to defraud in which he submitted false invoices, substantially overstated the prices of international business deals he orchestrated on behalf of his employer, and by setting up fraudulent bank accounts in the name of the private equity firm for which he worked and the companies in which his employer invested.”
On one occasion in November 2014, it is alleged that Ahmed recommended to his private equity firm that it invest $20 million in an international company and justified the price by submitting fraudulent financial documents. At the same time, Ahmed informed the international company that his employer had agreed to purchase shares for $2 million.
The indictment alleges that Ahmed then directed the private equity firm to wire $2 million to another company and the remaining $18 million to an account that Ahmed falsely claimed was the company’s account, but actually belonged to Ahmed.
On Jan. 12, 2015, Ahmed transferred the $18 million in fraud proceeds to his spouse and a portion of these funds was used to purchase a luxury condominium in New York City, according to the indictment.
According to The Hindu, Ahmed and another Indian-origin entrepreneur were charged in April 2015 for insider trading for making over a million dollars in illegal profits through the proposed acquisition of Cooper Tire and Rubber by India’s Apollo Tyres. Amit Kanodia, of Massachusetts, a 47-year-old entrepreneur and private equity investor, and his long-time friend Iftikar Ahmed, a general partner at a venture capital firm were charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the acquisition of American company Cooper by Apollo was never completed, the SEC complaint said that Cooper Tire’s stock price jumped 41 per cent when the acquisition was announced in June 2013.
The SEC alleges that Kanodia tipped Ahmed and another friend prior to the acquisition announcement after learning of the deal from his wife, who was Apollo’s general counsel at the time, more than two months before the merger was announced.
Assets frozen
In May 2015, the SEC obtained a court order freezing $55,089,446 million of Ahmed's assets.
According to the SEC's complaint, Ahmed had Oak funds pay $20 million for a $2 million stake in an Asian e-commerce joint venture in December 2014, pocketing the $18 million difference for himself. It alleges that in another investment in August 2014, an Oak fund overpaid for shares in a China-based e-commerce company, allowing Ahmed to pocket $2 million. In a third transaction, the complaint alleges that in 2013, Ahmed advised an Oak fund to invest $25 million in a U.S.-based e-commerce company without disclosing his interest in I-Cubed Domains LLC, which had a significant stake in the same company. The following year, at Ahmed's advice, the Oak fund paid $7.5 million to I-Cubed to buy shares in the company that I-Cubed had acquired for $2 million. The complaint alleges that Ahmed again failed to disclose his ties to I-Cubed, violating his duty to act in the best interest of the Oak fund investors and avoid self-dealing.
According to Bloomberg, Ahmed received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1999 and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi in 1993. He was a general partner at Oak Investment Partners, spent three years with Fidelity Ventures as senior associate and worked in the private equity and special situations group of Goldman Sachs.
What he faces
If Ahmed is captured - and convicted - the charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 on each count.
The charge of making false statements in income tax returns provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million on each count.
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