Barry J. Graham, 59, and Ricky Lynn Stokes, 54, both of Ft. Myers, Florida, were sentenced to 60 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for promising to develop dilapidated properties into luxury resorts as well as an upfront leaseback payment at the time of closing, but failed to disclose the leaseback payment and other financial inducements to the borrowers, on paperwork submitted to lenders.
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Joel Wilson, 32, Saginaw, Michigan, was convicted by a jury on nine felony charges for his role in an extensive Michigan Ponzi scheme wherein he defrauded hundreds of Michigan victims out of millions of dollars. In January 2014, extradition efforts were initiated to retrieve Wilson from Germany after he was on the lam in Europe for more than a year.
John Reid Perkins, 45, Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. to serve 64 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on securities fraud conspiracy charges and for violating the terms of his supervised release stemming from a previous federal conviction.
Thomas Franklin Tarbutton, Orange County, California, an alleged hard money lender, has been charged with running a real estate ponzi scheme, embezzling funds from investors by keeping the money they lent for borrowers and not funding the loans as promised.
Charles A. Bennett, 56, Manhattan, New York, was arrested on securities and wire fraud charges stemming from his scheme to defraud over 30 investors of more than $5 million through a Ponzi scheme that he perpetrated for more than five years.
Barry J. Graham, 59, and Ricky Lynn Stokes, 54, both of Ft. Myers, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow in Key West. The charges stem from the defendants’ participation in a $300 million Ponzi scheme involving the sale of vacation rental units to approximately 1,400 investors in the Florida Keys and elsewhere.
Mark Feathers, 51, Los Altos, California, an investment manager, was indicted by a federal grand jury on twenty-nine counts of securities and mail fraud, relating to a multi-million dollar investment scheme. The defendant falsely represented to prospective investors that the investment funds would pay “Member Returns” of at least 7.5% from profits generated by the investment funds’ mortgage loan portfolios.
Marie Mikesche Bontigao, 43, West Chester, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment for her alleged role in a fraud scheme wherein she solicited individuals to invest in her real estate projects but, instead of investing the lenders’ money in real estate, the funds were used to operate her business and pay personal expenses
Barry J. Graham, 59, Ft. Lauderdale, was charged by superseding information with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371, in connection with a $300 million Ponzi scheme involving the sale of vacation rental units to approximately 1,400 investors in the Florida Keys and elsewhere. Continue Reading…
Joel Wilson, 31, Saginaw, Michigan, who was extradited from Germany after being on the lam in Europe for more than a year, will proceed to trial for his alleged role in an extensive real estate Ponzi scheme. Wilson allegedly defrauded investors by telling them he would use their funds to purchase distressed properties, then sell them at a profit.