Latest news with #investmentfraud
Emirates 24/7
2 days ago
- Emirates 24/7
Dubai Police Nab Cybercrime Gang Posing as Investment Brokers
Dubai Police have apprehended a cybercrime gang that specialised in online fraud by promoting fake trading and investment schemes through social media platforms. The arrests were made by the Anti-Fraud Centre at the General Department of Criminal Investigation following intensive monitoring and investigation. The operation, which the force revealed its details as part of the national awareness campaign #BeAwareofFraud, was launched after receiving several reports from victims who were contacted by the gang via phone calls. The suspects falsely claimed to represent reputable electronic investment and trading platforms, using this cover to gain the trust of their targets. The gang convinced victims they could earn high and quick profits, prompting them to transfer funds which were subsequently funnelled into bank accounts outside the UAE. The identities and locations of the suspects were thoroughly identified, leading to their swift arrest. Legal measures have been taken to refer them to the competent judicial authorities. Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
Gulf Business
3 days ago
- Gulf Business
Dubai Police arrest cybercrime gang behind fake online investment schemes
Image: Dubai Media Office The arrests were carried out by the Anti-Fraud Centre at the General Department of Criminal Investigation, following extensive monitoring and investigation efforts, according to a report published by the Dubai Media Office. The suspects had contacted victims through phone calls, falsely presenting themselves as representatives of legitimate electronic trading and investment platforms. They used these claims to gain victims' trust and convince them to transfer funds with the promise of fast and high returns, police said. The funds were then funneled into bank accounts located outside the UAE, authorities added. Dubai Police made the arrest as part of larger efforts to raise awareness about cyber threats The operation was part of the ongoing national awareness campaign, launched to educate the public about rising cyber threats. Dubai Police said they acted swiftly after receiving several reports from victims and were able to identify the gang's identities and locations before making the arrests. Legal procedures have been initiated to refer the suspects to the appropriate judicial authorities.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
After a Chaotic Start, a U.S. Attorney's Time May Be Running Out
Lawyers for Eliyahu Weinstein were faced with a difficult situation. After their client's 24-year sentence for investment fraud was commuted by President Trump in his first term, Mr. Weinstein was charged again with a similar crime by federal prosecutors in New Jersey and convicted at trial in late March. But his lawyers had a plan. They reached out to the state's newly installed U.S. attorney, Alina Habba, hoping to persuade her to push for an unusually light penalty, even though their client was a repeat felon. Ms. Habba granted them a rare private meeting to discuss the sentencing, which is scheduled for September, and she did not invite the prosecutors who had handled Mr. Weinstein's case, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The episode left members of her staff infuriated. A brash media personality and former personal lawyer to Mr. Trump, Ms. Habba is among the most high-profile of the new U.S. attorneys appointed by a president who has taken closer control of the Justice Department than any other in the past half century. She has made frequent media appearances and drawn attention for a series of notable investigations into Democratic political figures. Her tenure has also shattered morale inside the U.S. attorney's office and left many prosecutors looking for a way out, according to 16 close observers of the office who were interviewed for this article and spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Ms. Habba boasted, upon taking office, of her direct line to the White House, according to people with knowledge of her remarks, even as she has insisted that she is 'not political.' Prosecutors have chafed at her availability to defense lawyers. She disbanded the office's Civil Rights Division and killed the office's longest-running prosecution just days before it was scheduled to go to trial. Three framed pictures of herself now hang in a conference room named for a legendary New Jersey crime fighter, Frederick B. Lacey. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Fashion mogul and Project Runway judge 'googled how to commit fraud to pull off $300M scheme'
A fashion mogul and former Project Runway judge has been accused of a staggering $300 million fraud. Christine Hunsicker, 48, of Lafayette, New Jersey, is charged with six counts, including fraud, aggravated identity theft and false statement charge. Prosecutors say she forged documents and misrepresented her company's financial condition to defraud investors in her companies CaaStle Inc. and P180. Hunsicker created several fake audits for investors that showed the company had significantly more money available than it did, according to prosecutors. She was eventually confronted by another investor in October 2024 but feigned innocence, the indictment said. However immediately after the investor left, she googled 'faking an audit', according to the complaint. Her lawyers said that the indictment was a 'distorted picture' which they are keen to challenge in court. Before the fraud allegations emerged, Hunsicker seemed to be a rising star in the fashion world after she was named to Crain's New York Business '40 under 40' list. She was selected as one of Inc.'s Most Impressive Women Entrepreneurs and was recognized by the National Retail Federation as someone shaping the future of retail, the indictment noted. She also appeared as a judge on Project Runway in 2016 and has been pictured posing alongside Bill and Hillary Clinton. It is a far cry from the salacious allegations which appear in the indictment which narrates how she allegedly tried to cover up her tracks. Hunsicker created fake audits that showed CaaStle had $50million in cash available, when in reality it had less than $1million in August 2023, the indictment states. She also told investors that the shares they were buying were from other shareholders who were liquidating their assets, when in fact, those people didn't exist, the indictment said. She told them the shareholders were liquidating their assets due to a 'family health emergency' or do to the FTX collapse, which saw founder Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years for also scamming his investors. 'To maintain the fiction, after facilitating the supposed secondary sales, HUNSICKER issued fake capitalization tables to the investors to demonstrate that they had purchased existing CaaStle shares,' the indictment, unsealed on Friday, said. The indictment said she portrayed CaaStle as a high-growth, private company with substantial cash on hand when she knew it faced significant financial distress. Hunsicker allegedly continued her fraudulent scheme even after the CaaStle board of directors removed her and prohibited her from soliciting investments or taking other actions on the company's behalf, the indictment said. She 'persisted in her scheme' even after law enforcement agents confronted her over the fraud, the indictment said. At a time when the business was in financial distress with limited cash available and significant expenses, CaaStle was valued by Hunsicker at $1.4billion, the indictment said. Hunsicker was lying to investors in February 2019 and continued to do so through this March, prosecutors alleged. She allegedly told one investor in August 2023 that CaaStle reported an operating profit of nearly $24million in the second quarter of 2023 when its operating profit that quarter was actually less than $30,000. The indictment alleged that she carried out the majority of the fraud by bilking CaaStle investors of $275million before forming P180 last year to infuse CaaStle with cash before its investors could discover her fraud. Through misrepresentations and omissions, she cheated P180 investors out of about $30million, the indictment said. It said CaaStle filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last month, leaving hundreds of investors holding now-worthless CaaStle shares. She self-surrendered on Friday and she faces up to 50 years in prison. Defense Lawyers Michael Levy and Anna Skotko said in a statement that prosecutors, 'have chosen to present to the public an incomplete and very distorted picture in today's indictment.' They added this is despite Hunsicker's efforts to be, 'fully cooperative and transparent' with prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission. 'There is much more to this story, and we look forward to telling it,' they said.
The Sun
12-07-2025
- The Sun
Brit charged with £73m wine scam after he allegedly sold vino that didn't exist for £12k as he appears in New York court
A BRIT is facing charges in a New York court over his alleged connection to a major $99 million wine fraud. James Wellesley, 58, pleaded not guilty on Friday after he was extradited from the UK. 7 7 7 7 He has been detained on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. Wellesley was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy The alleged Ponzi-style scheme involved getting investors to lend money to the wine collectors in return for regular interest payments. But the US Attorney's Office alleges that neither the wine collections not the wine itself actually exist. This included Domaine de la Romanée-Conti - which is listed online for more than $17,000 per bottle. These loans were said to be secured against a stockpile of expensive wines. The defendants are alleged to have solicited $99 million in investments from residents of New York and other areas between 2017 and 2019. Wellesley's co-defendant Stephen Burton had been extradited from Morocco in 2023. He had been trying to enter the north African country on a false Zimbabwean passport. 60-year-old Brit Burton has also pleaded not guilty to similar charges. Wellesley is reported to have had many aliases including Andrew Fuller and Andrew Templar. Shocking moment woman has full blown foot-stamping airport MELTDOWN at check-in Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York office, said: "James Wellesley and his business partner allegedly concocted an elaborate scheme defrauding investors out of millions of dollars to finance their own personal expenses. "Their alleged deceit spread across years and continents." If convicted, the two each face up to 20 years in prison. 7 7 7 Prosecutors allege the pair used loan proceeds "to make fraudulent interest payments to investors and for their own personal expenses". Ricky Patel, a Homeland Security special agent, said: "James Wellesley and his co-conspirator are accused of masterminding their nearly $100 million international fraud scheme that exploited the unsuspecting public, including New Yorkers, for their own selfish enrichment. "As alleged, the defendants claimed Bordeaux Cellars boasted a high-value wine stockpile and a clientele of 'high-net-worth wine collectors' – and in turn profited handsomely – all while they swindled investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more. "Let it be known, regardless of the nature of the transnational criminal scheme, HSI New York, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to adapt and evolve to fight global and domestic financial crimes wherever and whenever possible." "Today's arraignment sends a message to all perpetrators of global fraud schemes that my office will work tirelessly to ensure they answer for crimes committed in the United States," said US attorney Joseph Nocella. "We will not rest in our efforts to seek justice for victims of fraud."
