Lawrence Foster, 50, Miami Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 152 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to commit wire fraud and committing substantive counts of wire fraud, and was ordered to pay over $8 million in restitution. The Court also ordered the forfeiture of over $1 million that was seized by federal law enforcement.
Foster was convicted of all counts after a jury trial for his role in defrauding over 100 investors of over $8 million dollars. Foster fraudulently promised investors that his company, Paradise is Mine, was developing land in the Bahamas.
Foster’s co-defendants were previously sentenced for their roles in the fraudulent scheme.
Salesperson Jordon McCarty, 37, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced in November 2013, to 78 month’s imprisonment for his role in defrauding investors. Johana Leon, 39, Miami Beach, Florida, was sentenced in May 2015, to one year and one day imprisonment, after being convicted of structuring currency transactions.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
The government announced its intent to use the forfeited monies to repay a portion of the $8 million owed to the victims of the fraudulent scheme.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys H. Ron Davidson and Robert Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Evelyn Sheehan and Karen Moore handled the forfeiture proceedings in this case.
