Articles
How scams work, who they target, and what to do — explained in plain English.
Showing 331–360 of 387 articles (page 12 of 13)
John T. Burns III was convicted of selling fake Turkish bonds to retirees via USA Retirement Management Services. Conviction stands; sentence vacated.
· 4 min read
Richard L. Thompson sold Latten Management shares claiming it owned Tennessee land it didn't. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and got 4 years in prison.
· 3 min read
Broker George Dravilas got 16 months for a straw-buyer mortgage scheme on two Chicago two-flats. Bridget Hutcherson pleaded guilty to supplying fake W-2s.
· 3 min read
Developers Vince Manglardi and T.J. Wojtas used a fictional '$100 million fund' to sell Palatine condos to straw buyers. Both convicted, plus four others.
· 4 min read
Neal Goyal ran a fake Michigan Avenue trading shop and a Ponzi through Blue Horizon and Caldera, many investors friends and family. He got 72 months.
· 3 min read
Dr. Omeed Memar, charged in a 2015 Medicare fraud takedown, was convicted of billing cosmetic IPL treatments as pre-cancer care. Probation and a fine.
· 3 min read
Ankur Roy of Selectcare Health got 75 months for billing Medicare and Blue Cross for respiratory therapy never given. Two partners pleaded guilty.
· 3 min read
Psychologist Sharon Rinaldi billed Medicare for therapy to dead nursing-home patients and for days over 24 hours. She pleaded guilty and got 15 months.
· 2 min read
Corwin Pharmacy owner Walter Beich billed insurers for drugs he never dispensed or swapped for foreign products. 48 months and $2.2M+ restitution.
· 3 min read
Adviser Joseph Hennessy used new Midwest Opportunity Fund money to repay old investors and forged two elderly clients' names on wires. He got 36 months.
· 3 min read
Jacinto 'John' Gabriel Jr. ran Perpetual Home Health and Legacy Home Healthcare to bill Medicare for unneeded care. He got 10 years and $23.3M restitution.
· 2 min read
Gregg Steinnagel and a late partner posing as a lawyer sold fake real-estate-secured loan investments, costing 20 victims $1.7M. He got 48 months.
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Richard DeMaria took $4.2M for Panorama Global Partners to 'lease and trade' financial instruments, then spent it, including on an Aston Martin. 40 months.
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Psychologist Keenan Ferrell and aide Bryce Woods billed Medicare for nursing-home therapy Ferrell never gave. Ferrell got 88 months, Woods 70.
· 3 min read
Attorney and radio host Kathleen Niew diverted $2.34M in client escrow meant for real estate closings into gold-mining deals. She got 70 months in prison.
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Sentinel Management CEO Eric Bloom pledged client securities for a risky house portfolio before its 2007 collapse. 14 years; trader Charles Mosley, 8.
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Daniel Spitzer and Alfred Gerebizza raised $105M from 455 investors for 'Kenzie Funds' forex trading; losses hit $34M. Spitzer got 25 years, Gerebizza 20.
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Gail Howard and James Jedynak raised $30M for Unified Worldwide Transport, a supposed VoIP firm, and spent $6.2M on luxuries. They got 7 and 6.5 years.
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Rashid Minhas sold Hajj packages he couldn't get visas for and voided customers' paper airline tickets. He got 114 months, affirmed in 2017.
· 3 min read
COR, a Hoffman Estates firm claiming billions to fund small businesses, took $2M in advance fees, prosecutors said. Lawyer Artemio Rivera was convicted.
· 4 min read
A jury convicted lawyer and radio host Warren Ballentine of closing straw-buyer mortgages in two schemes. One day, time served; $140,940 restitution.
· 3 min read
Ex-Ameriprise adviser Oscar Donald Overbey Jr. took about $4M from 30+ people for fake investments, spent on Ponzi payments and gambling. 42 months.
· 2 min read
Michael Mackay mailed counterfeit money orders to job seekers told they were 'secret shoppers' and should wire back the funds. Sentenced to 59 months.
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Chiropractor Andrew Carr and wife Wendy billed insurers for treatment never given, and kept going after indictment. He got 8 years; she got 28 months.
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Anshoo Sethi raised $160M from 290 Chinese EB-5 investors for an O'Hare hotel complex using forged documents and fake hotel deals. 3 years in prison.
· 3 min read
Clifford Edwards Jr. ran call centers for fake charities claiming to help kids with cancer, keeping $120,000 from 3,600 donors. He got 56 months.
· 2 min read
Skokie couple John Yousefzai and Armanouhi Arzomanian billed Medicare for doctor home visits that never happened. He got 24 months; she got 18.
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Anthony D'Agostino kept selling notes in Rockford's Commercial Mortgage and Finance Co. while hiding its deepening negative net worth. 90 months.
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Six were charged over $22.8M in inflated mortgages at Chicago's Vision on State condos. All pleaded guilty; developer Warren Barr III got 87 months.
· 5 min read
Stone Rose partner Matthew Stoen took $2.58M of investor money and reported $8.2M in cash when the firm had $1.5M. 24 months; affirmed in 2019.
· 3 min read