US authorities have sentenced a 53-year-old Florida resident to 11 years and 3 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to numerous counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
During 2013-20, the convict coerced several entities into investing over $4 million with him, under the fraudulent pretext of the investment being for real estate or other business deal that would yield high and guaranteed returns. However, the convict used the invested money for personal expenses or to pay back previous investors. In furtherance of his scheme, the convict made further false statements about his relationships with business owners, prominent individuals, attorneys, etc.
The convict used several shell companies to carry out the scheme and then laundered the illicit proceeds by making transactions over $10,000. Besides his prison sentence, the convict will have to pay back over $3.2 million to the victims of his fraud.
Source: US Department of Justice