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Tag: restitution

  • Southampton advisor sentenced for $1M client fraud | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • Defendant was convicted of , and .

    • Misappropriated over $1 million from two clients for personal expenses.

    • Used client funds to buy luxury items, a Mercedes SUV, and pay golf club dues.

    A investment advisor was sentenced Thursday in federal court in for defrauding more than $1 million from clients, officials said.

    Jeffrey Slothower was convicted in May of 2024 of federal wire , investment adviser fraud and money laundering. On Thursday, he was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay , according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

    “Jeffrey Slothower used his position as an investment advisor to steal over a million dollars from an unsuspecting couple,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., said in a news release about the sentencing. “Today’s sentence sends a message to all those that would use their positions as financial professionals to line their own pockets – our office will prosecute you to the full extent of the law.”

    Trial evidence showed that Slothower carried out a scheme to misuse more than $1 million from clients. While operating , a New York investment advisory firm, he solicited a California couple whose funds he had previously managed at another firm, officials said. Slothower promised to outperform their existing returns without market risk and, in 2017, offered to invest the first victim’s money in purported bonds backed by homeowners’ association fees paying an 8 percent return.

    In January 2017 the victim sent more than $500,000 to Slothower at Battery Private to invest in those bonds. Instead, Slothower transferred the funds to his personal accounts and used them to purchase a $125,000 Mercedes-Benz SUV and for dues at the Long Island National Golf Club. He later made payments to the victim, falsely representing them as quarterly investment distributions, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

    Slothower later solicited additional investments from the first victim, including funds controlled by the second victim, then a Battery Private client. In December 2017, the second victim sent more than $500,000 to Slothower to invest in the bonds. Yet Slothower  used these funds for personal expenses, including tens of thousands of dollars in credit card charges for a $6,500 Chanel purse, a $13,000 Rolex watch and more than $11,000 in Ralph Lauren clothing. Slothower made payments to the second victim that he falsely represented as quarterly investment distributions, officials said.

    The scheme continued through June 2018, when Slothower obtained an additional approximately $84,000 from the first victim. He used those funds to make purported quarterly payments to both victims, which he falsely represented as investment returns, and to pay golf club dues, according to officials.

    Slothower also engaged in mortgage fraud while attempting to refinance a mortgage on a residence he owned. He misrepresented to the lender, both orally and through false invoices, that the victims’ funds were proceeds from the sale of wine, stamp and fine art collections. At trial, according to officials, Slothower falsely testified under oath that he had not characterized the victims’ funds as proceeds from asset sales.

    On Thursday, he was sentenced to 72 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.16 million in restitution and forfeiture, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

     

     


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    Adina Genn

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  • Former LI tax preparer pleads guilty to $12M fraud scheme | Long Island Business News

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    A former based on Long Island pleaded guilty in federal court in on Wednesday to a nearly $12 million scheme.

    Damaris Beltre, who had operated a tax preparation service in Freeport, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said.

    The U.S. Attorney said that Beltre had prepared false individual tax returns that caused a total of about $12 million in losses to the Internal Revenue Service () and the Payroll Protection Program (PPP).

    “Beltre brazenly defrauded the government and callously put her clients in jeopardy to line her own pockets,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., said in a news release about the guilty plea.

    “Today’s guilty plea should serve as a warning to anyone who, like this defendant, views federal programs and the federal treasury as their own personal piggybanks, that you will be arrested and vigorously prosecuted,” he added.

    “Beltre was a shady tax preparer with a complete disregard for U.S. law or the American public she failed when she fraudulently claimed tens of millions of dollars in COVID19-related tax credits,” Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation New York Special Agent in Charge Harry Chavis said in the news release. “She hoarded funds meant for those with a legitimate need just to fatten her own pockets. With today’s plea, she can move forward with facing the full consequences of her actions.”

    Officials said that from January 2021 to April 2024, Beltre owned and operated multiple Freeport-based financial service businesses and personally prepared or supervised the preparation of false individual income tax returns and related forms submitted to the IRS. In those filings, Beltre claimed tens of millions in COVID-19 and motor fuel tax credits to generate improper refunds. Clients paid more than $1 million in fees for these services, often a percentage of the refunds. In April 2023, an undercover federal agent hired Beltre, who filed a return claiming a $14,243 refund instead of the $205 actually owed, charging $2,200, officials said. This years-long scheme led the IRS to issue nearly $11 million in improper refunds and lose additional tax revenue.

    And officials said that separately, Beltre was involved in a scheme. They said that from April 2020 to July 2022, Beltre filed false payroll reports and tax returns for her corporate clients in order to fraudulently obtain about $1 million in PPP loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. She used the proceeds, along with funds from the tax-preparer fraud scheme, for personal expenses, including debts, a Caribbean home, a car and jewelry.

    When sentenced, Beltre faces a maximum sentence of 53 years’ imprisonment, as well as restitution of approximately $12 million.

     


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    Adina Genn

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  • Rockville Centre business owner admits $600K workers’ comp fraud | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • Defendant pleaded guilty to insurance

    • $3.5M in payroll underreported, leading to over $600K in unpaid premiums

    • Scheme uncovered by audits from 2019 to 2022

    • and fines due by Dec. 2 or jail time may follow

    A Rockville Centre business owner and his Queens-based construction company pleaded guilty Tuesday to in a workers’ compensation scheme that resulted in more than $600,000 in underpaid policy premiums, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

    , and his company pleaded guilty to third-degree insurance fraud. The company also pleaded guilty to effect of failure to secure compensation under the New York Law, officials said.

    “This calculated scheme of underreporting millions of dollars of payroll to defraud the state’s insurance system was a deliberate effort to gain an unfair advantage over businesses doing things the right way,” Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a news release about the guilty plea.

    “When employers cheat the system, they put workers at risk,” she said. “We will continue to work with our state partners in holding businesses owners accountable when they try to undermine the integrity of systems put in place to help employees.”

    According to officials, annual audits by New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) investigators found the defendants allegedly underreported payroll between April 2019 and March 2022, resulting in premium fraud.

    As an NYSIF Workers’ Compensation policyholder, Khargie and his company were required to submit annual financial records, including income and payroll, to renew coverage, the DA’s office said. However, records showed the defendants hid payments from three steel and iron fabrication companies in an undisclosed JPMorgan Chase account. In total, Khargie underreported over $3.5 million in payroll, leading to underpayment of workers’ compensation premiums, according to the DA’s office.

    Khargie and GC Stud are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2. The defendant is required to pay $625,000 in restitution to NYSIF before that date, according to the DA’s office. If Khargie fails to pay the full amount, he could face a prison sentence of two to six years. GC Stud faces $6,000 in fines, also due on Dec. 2.

     

     

     

     


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    Adina Genn

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  • Ryan Garcia off the hook after reimbursing Beverly Hills hotel $15,000 for vandalism damage

    Ryan Garcia off the hook after reimbursing Beverly Hills hotel $15,000 for vandalism damage

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    Mercurial boxer Ryan Garcia caught a break Tuesday when a judge dismissed a misdemeanor vandalism charge against him over the objections of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

    Judge James P. Cooper III granted a civil compromise at the L.A. Airport Courthouse, noting that Garcia had paid restitution of approximately $15,000 to the Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria hotel for damage stemming from an incident June 8 in which he allegedly damaged property in his room and the hallway.

    Garcia had no criminal record and was hospitalized after his arrest, but L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a news release after the arrest that the popular lightweight boxer would be held accountable.

    “While we are grateful no injuries were reported in this incident, reckless behavior that damages property shows a blatant and unacceptable disregard for the safety and peace of our community,” Gascón said.

    Garcia, 26, responded with a post on social media: “No way I’m going to jail.”

    Turns out he was correct because, as the judge noted in open court, Garcia’s payment of full restitution prompted the Waldorf Astoria to decline to pursue the matter further.

    Cooper cautioned Garcia from the bench before dismissing the case, saying, “I have seen athletes lose their money, very quickly, because people always want to be around you to party when you have the money. But when that money’s gone, your friends are no longer around and they no longer have their hands out because your money’s gone. And you can look at Mike Tyson. It happened to Muhammad Ali. It happens to a lot of people in your field.”

    The incident marked the low point in a series of events that began with a stunning achievement, an upset over Devin Haney in April in which Garcia knocked down the World Boxing Council super lightweight titleholder three times en route to a majority decision. Haney retained his title because Garcia was 3.2 pounds overweight at the time of the fight.

    Eleven days later, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Assn. determined that Garcia had tested positive for Ostarine, a performance-enhancing drug that can stimulate muscle growth, the day before and the day of the fight. Garcia responded with mixed signals, first saying through his lawyers that he was the victim of contaminated supplements, then unleashing a rant on social media that seemed close to a confession.

    “Let’s go we positive. Positive vibes bruh. Yess so happy,” Garcia wrote in posts that have since been deleted. “I F***ING LOVE STEROIDS. I don’t care I’ll never make money again with boxing. Your loss not mine for setting me up lol joke’s on y’all. I will swallow all steroids.”

    The New York State Athletic Commission suspended Garcia for one year, fined him $1.2 million and ordered him to forfeit his $1-million purse. Garcia, who grew up in Victorville, is eligible to fight again in New York in April if he passes a drug test.

    Garcia said several times on social media before news of the suspension that he was retiring from boxing and later posted that he wanted to talk to UFC president Dana White about joining that organization.

    “I really hope boxing good without me,” Garcia posted. “I fought everyone and was willing to. They have turned there [sic] back on me. I’m innocent. I stand by that I don’t care what everyone says. Gun yo my head I say I didn’t take PED’s.”

    Now, however, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) says he’s training for a potential rematch with Haney (31-0, 15KOs).

    “We training every day. We got to be ready so when Devin Haney wants that fade again. We already beat his a— one time. If we do it twice, no debating anymore,” Garcia told Cool Kicks.

    Haney’s father, Bill, responded by saying Garcia would need to pass a drug test before a rematch can be discussed. The two camps can jaw about it for a while because Garcia’s suspension doesn’t end until April 20.

    Garcia’s erratic behavior has continued since the hotel incident. The World Boxing Council expelled him in July after he used racial slurs against Black people and disparaged Muslim and Jewish people on social media. He also attacked the inclusion of LGBTQ+ music and pop culture performers during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics with a string of profane social media posts.

    In court, however, the judge focused on Garcia fulfilling his restitution to the hotel in dismissing the vandalism charge.

    “The court issues a lot of restitution orders and I will say that in 95% of them the victim never receives satisfaction,” Cooper said from the bench. “And I think in this situation, where the defendant has made full restitution, in a weird sort of way he’s sort of shown a lot of remorse for what happened and I think he gets the benefit of his bargain.”

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    Steve Henson

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  • Couple whose gender-reveal party sparked the massive El Dorado fire sentenced

    Couple whose gender-reveal party sparked the massive El Dorado fire sentenced

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    The couple whose pyrotechnics during a gender-reveal party set off what came to be known as the massive El Dorado fire in San Bernardino County in 2020 was sentenced Friday after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

    The couple inadvertently started the 22,000-acre fire on a scorching hot day in a Yucaipa park with a device that was supposed to emit blue or pink smoke, authorities said. The fire killed U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter Charles Morton, injured two more firefighters and 13 others, destroyed five homes and forced hundreds to evacuate.

    Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. was sentenced to a year in county jail, two years of felony probation and community service after pleading guilty to a felony count of involuntary manslaughter in Morton’s death and two felony counts of recklessly causing fire to an inhabited structure, according to the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.

    Angelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing a fire to another’s property and was sentenced to a year summary probation and community service, prosecutors said.

    The Jimenezes were also ordered to pay victims’ restitution in the amount of $1,789,972.

    “Resolving the case was never going to be a win,” said San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson in a statement.

    “To the victims who lost so much, including their homes with valuables and memories, we understand those are intangibles can never be replaced,” Anderson said. “Our hope with this resolution is that it closes a painful chapter in your lives, and the restitution provides a measure of assistance in becoming whole again.”

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    Rachel Uranga

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