Colorado Man Pleads Guilty In $21 Million Ponzi Scheme Case

Shawn R. Merriman, 46, of Aurora, Colorado, pleaded guilty last week to charges he defrauded investors out of some $21 million over a 15 year period in a Ponzi-type investment fraud scheme. Commencing in 1994, Merriman promised returns of 7 to 25 percent to investors, but instead spend much of the investment funds to pay dividends to earlier investors and to purchase artwork, sports memorabilia and antique cars, among other personal luxury items. Merriman's scheme involved his investment firm, Market Street Advisors and he reportedly targeted local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he is a bishop. Merriman was arrested last April and authorities have seized 193 paintings and works of art; 27 vehicles, including a 1937 Cord and a 1930 Lincoln; 34 rifles, shotguns and handguns; and baseball memorabilia, including a glove autographed by Lou Gehrig (see link below for a full list of items seized). He is scheduled to be sentenced next May.

Read the story here, here and here.

Read the SEC complaint here.

See the list of items seized from Merriman here.

Michigan Woman Charged In Ponzi Scheme Case

Rita Ann Gosselin, 58, of Grosse Ile, Michigan, has been arrested and charged with operating a real estate Ponzi scheme which allegedly defrauded up to 20 people out of $500,000. The scheme reportedly went on between April 2007 and September 2008 wherein Gosselin promised prospective investors that she could purchase foreclosed and distressed properties in bulk, renovate them and sell them for a profit, providing monthly revenue. Gosselin was charged with one count of racketeering and three counts of false pretenses over $20,000. She faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted on all four felony counts.

Read the story here and here.

Read the Michigan Attorney General's announcement here.

Colorado Man Pleads Not Guilty In Alleged $227K Embezzlement Case

Jeffrey Scott Guntle, 47, of Alamosa, Colorado, has plead not guilty to charges he embezzled some $227,000 from the Alamosa Housing Authority where he had been employed. Guntle was indicted last month on three counts of embezzling and aiding and abetting, 19 counts of money laundering and a count of conspiring with an unidentified housing authority employee to embezzle. The scheme lasted about two years from 2005 to 2007. Two other agency employees have been accused of similar charges. Patricia Martinez, 62, former executive director of the agency, pleaded guilty last month to embezzling $1.3 million between 1998 and 2007 and Presiliano Bonifacio Romero, 44, a maintenance worker, is scheduled to plead guilty later this month to embezzling $42,900 in 2005. The case against Guntle involves the alleged fabrication of fraudulent maintenance invoices.

Read the story here, here and here.

Former West Virginia Parks & Rec Official Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $130K

Amy Marie Mick, 31, of Morgantown, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to embezzlement, uttering and two counts of forgery in connection with the theft of some $130,000 from the Morgantown Board of Park and Recreation Commissioners (BOPARC), where she oversaw senior programs and had bookkeeping responsibilities. According to authorities, Mick misappropriated the funds between 2006 and 2009 from BOPARC's Retired Seniors Volunteer Program by making unauthorized purchases with an agency debit/credit card. She faces up to 40 years in prison and must pay restitution.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update (7/21/10): Mick was sentenced yesterday to five years probation and ordered to pay full restitution and send a written apology to the Morgantown BOPARC.

FBI Investigating $1 Million Apparent Embezzlement From Connecticut Church

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the apparent embezzlement of some $1 million from the St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Orange, Connecticut. Church leaders held a meeting last night to tell members about the thefts from the church's endowment and building fund. The unidentified suspect may have also misappropriated church members individual investments, according to reports.

Developing...

Read the story here, here and here.

North Carolina Woman Accused Of Embezzling $1 Million From Auto Dealership

Pamela Snow Lewis, 62, of Mount Airy, North Carolina, has been charged with embezzling more than $1 million from Patterson Toyota where she had been employed for 15 years. She held an office management position that gave her access to the company's accounts. According to authorities, Lewis devised an elaborate scheme where money from the dealership was deposited into her personal bank account. She faces 9 counts of embezzlement in excess of $100,000. Lewis is due back in court on January 21st.

Read the story here and here.

California Woman Charged With Embezzling $250K

Sivalatha "Siva" Sadasivam, 40, of Tracy, California has been charged with embezzling some $250,000 worth in gift cards from Lodi-based property management firm, RPM Company. Sadasivam, who was in charge of purchasing gift cards from Safeway Stores for prospective clients, instead kept many for herself. She would then exchange cards for other retail outlets such as Best Buy and Nordstroms and used them to purchase personal luxury items for herself and her husband. The scheme dates back about five years to at least 2004. She has been charged with two felony counts each of embezzlement and grand theft. Sadasivam holds dual citizenship in the US and Malaysia.

Read the story here and here.

Update (3/29/11): Sadasivam, now 42, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after pleading guilty in this case. Read an update of the story here.

Update: Fmr. Congressman Shays Campaign Manager Arrested For Embezzlement

Michael I. Sohn, 34, of Fairfield, Connecticut and the former aide to former congressman Christopher Shays, was arrested this morning after a 12-count indictment was handed down charging him with embezzling more than $250,000 in campaign funds. According to prosecutors, Sohn made unauthorized ATM withdrawals from campaign accounts among other misappropriations and spent the money on luxury items.

Read FraudTalk's earlier posts on this story here and here.

Read the story here and here.

Update (3/5/10): Michael I. Sohn will plead guilty to embezzling more than $250,000 from the Christopher Shays' campaign coffers over a four year period, according to reports. He faces 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines.

Update (9/16/10): Sohn blamed his thefts in part on his drug addiction.

Update (9/21/10): Sohn was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for embezzling $252,424 from the Christopher Shays for Congress Committee spanning a four year period.

Longtime Texas Bookkeeper Sentenced In $1 Million Embezzlement Case

Mary Henke Geiger, 69, of Salado, Texas, was sentenced to one year in prison for embezzling some $1 million from Austin Apartment Washer Service where she had been employed as a bookkeeper since the 1970s. Her sentencing follows Geiger's guilty plea to one count of bank fraud. With her guilty plea, Geiger admitted that from 1998 to mid-2006 she stole from the company by writing unauthorized checks to herself, relatives and others associates.

Read the story here and here.

Update: Petters Found Guilty On All Counts in $3.65 Million Ponzi Scheme Case

Former Minnesota businessman Thomas "Tom" J. Petters, 52, of Wayzata, Minnesota, was found guilty yesterday by a federal jury on all 20 felony counts that he ran a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme defrauding investors since the mid-1990's. The 20 guilty counts included wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. Petters was originally arrested in October 2008 and formally indicted in December - a year ago. The guilty verdicts followed a 17 day trial in federal court in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The fraud and conspiracy case involved Minnetonka-based Petters Group Worldwide, his primary holding company, and Petters Company Inc., the investment arm of the group. Several other executives of the company, including Deanna Coleman, Robert White, Michael Catain and Larry Reynolds, who have all previously pleaded guilty in the case. Coleman was reportedly the primary whistle blower in the case which involved a scheme to solicit cash from hedge funds, money managers and other investors to buy consumer electronics for resale to retailers such as Costco and Sam's Club. The big returns never materialized as promised as no significant transactions ever occurred.

Read FraudTalk's earlier posts on this story here, here , here and here.

Read the story here and here.

Former Massachusetts Bank Exec Arrested For Allegedly Misappropriating $179K

Kathleen Morris, 34, of Truro, Massachusetts, has been arrested on charges she misappropriated some $179,000 from Seamen's Bank, where she had been employed as vice president of commercial lending. Morris allegedly obtained fraudulent loans from the bank by submitting false credit information in the names of seven friends and family members between August 2007 and April 2009. According to prosecutors, none of the friends or relatives were involved in the scam. Morris plead not guilty to the 47 criminal charges, which include 15 counts each of forgery of a promissory note, uttering false writing and obtaining credit over $250 by a false financial statement as well as charges of larceny over $250 by a single scheme and embezzlement from a bank. Morris, who reportedly submitted 15 fraudulent loan packages, was fired last April.

Read the story here and here.

Virginia Man Faces Grand Jury In Alleged 666K Embezzlement Case

Michael D. Comer, 45, of Milton Village, Virginia, will face a grand jury on five embezzlement counts after disappearing last July 1 - on the day of an audit of the Glenmore Community Association which revealed a loss of some $666,000 he allegedly misappropriated. Comer, who had served as the Association's treasurer since 1994, was arrested on July 27th. Comer was also the president of the Glenmore Country Club. Both organizations are owned by his in-laws, according to reports. Each of the five counts carries a sentence of 20 years, if convicted.

Read the story here and here.

Update: Former New York Bookkeeper Sentenced In Quarter Million Embezzlement Case

Dorothy A. Horvath, 51, of Campbell Hall, New York, was sentenced to 3 to 6 years in prison for embezzling nearly a quarter million dollars from Chambers Tractor Sales in Montgomery, New York, where she had been employed as a bookkeeper. The loss estimate is greater than originally believed. Horvath must to repay $241,279 in restitution as part of the sentencing. Horvath was indicted last May on 38 felony counts, including one count of second-degree grand larceny, 18 counts of third-degree grand larceny and 19 counts of fourth-degree grand larceny. According to the indictment, the thefts took place between September 1, 2006 and October 31, 2008. According to reports, Horvath's primary means of embezzlement was to simply take company cash receipts from the bank deposit bag before depositing it. Horvath plead guilty last June.

Read FraudTalk's earlier posts on this story here and here.

Read the story here.

Update: California Couple Must Pay Restitution In Sausage Company Embezzlement Case

Perrin Vidal Clark, 30, and Rachel Jane Clark of Sacramento, California will have to pay at least $189,000 in restitution to Vance Sharp, owner of the Sonoma Sausage Company, where they had been employed for embezzling an estimated $117,000 in cash and property. Rachel Clark was an office manager for Sonoma Sausage from March 2007 to January 2008 and Perrin Clark was employed as a sales manager for part of that time. According to Sharp, the Clarks were involved in misusing corporate credit cards as well as stole company property, including a computer. Perrin and Rachel Clark plead guilty last June to one count of grand theft by embezzlement; 26 counts of forgery, two counts of receiving stolen property; one count of burglary; and two special allegations of stealing more than $65,000 and $100,000, respectively.

Read FraudTalk's original post on this story here.

Read the story here and here.

Former Oregon Bookkeeper Accused Of Embezzling $1.5 Million From Now-Defunct Print Shop

Victoria Marie Monfore, 48, of Springfield, Oregon, has been charged with embezzling some $1.5 million from IP/Koke Printing where she had been employed for 16 years as an accounts payable clerk. Monfore has been charged with 58 felony counts of aggravated first-degree theft, 18 counts of aggravated identity theft and a 12 counts of first-degree theft. The company shut down last December as a result, according to former owner and CEO, Jason Pierce. Monfore's embezzlement scheme lasted from August 2003 until June 2009 whereby she allegedly forged company checks and made them payable to herself. After the business closed down, resulting in 74 people losing their jobs, Monfore continued to work for other family businesses until she was fired in June.

Read the story here, here and here.

Update: Former Pennsylvania Fund Manager Gets 15 Years In $35 Million Ponzi Scheme Case

Joseph S. Forte, 53, of Broomall, Pennsylvania and a former Philadelphia-based fund manager, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for operating a Ponzi-type investment fraud scheme that bilked investors out of some $35 million. According to the original SEC complaint, Forte's scheme - luring investors in fraudulent futures contracts via his investment vehicle, Joseph Forte, L.P. , started in about 1995. Forte allegedly promised investors returns ranging from 18 to 38 percent per year with little or no risk. In all, he took in a reported $80 million. He donated to charities and funded private schools his kids attended. Forte also bought a beach house in New Jersey and by some accounts, lived a lavish lifestyle. Forte pleaded guilty last June to felony charges that included wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Read FraudTalk's original post on this story here.

Read the story here and here.