FBI: Federal Judge Orders Millions In Restitution In Decade-Long Ponzi Scheme

The FBI web page offers a report on justice for the victims of a ponzi scheme.

For more than decade, up until February 2014, Sacramento businessman (and Ponzi scammer extraordinaire) Deepal Wannakuwatte fooled his investors and his lenders into believing that he and his companies were worthy of their trust and their money. During that time frame, he fraudulently obtained in excess of $230 million from more than 150 victims, including individuals, businesses, government agencies, and financial institutions. Wannakuwatte used this to fund other business ventures, make adequate payments to his investors and lenders to keep the scam going, and line his own pockets.

But on the heels of a joint investigation with the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG),

Wannakuwatte—who pled guilty last year—got his comeuppance: He was ordered by a federal judge last month to pay millions in restitution to his victims. And he’ll be doing that from his jail cell, where he’ll be serving out his 20-year sentence.

You can read the rest of the report via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2015/april/justice-in-decade-long-ponzi-scheme 

FBI: The Fraudster Who Faked His Own Death

The FBI web site offers a piece on an interesting case:

When a federal judge recently sentenced Aubrey Lee Price to 30 years in prison for bank fraud, embezzlement, and other crimes, it closed a chapter on the once successful businessman’s sensational criminal saga.

Price went from a devout Christian minister and trusted financial adviser to a schemer who wiped out many of his clients’ life savings and then faked his own death to avoid taking responsibility for what he had done. When a routine traffic stop in Georgia resulted in his arrest on New Year’s Eve in 2013—nearly 18 months after his disappearance—Price acknowledged that he had become a drug dealer.

His well-publicized rise and fall makes for a fascinating tale, but our agents who investigated the case and who specialize in white-collar crime are quick to point out that the real focus of this story should not be on Price but rather on his victims.

“It’s unbelievably sad,” said Special Agent Ed Sutcliff in our Atlanta Field Office. “Most of Price’s victims had worked 30 or 40 years to save for retirement. They were living off those funds,” said Sutcliff, who interviewed many of the victims while investigating the case. “They had to learn from us that Price—their friend and adviser—was missing, and all their money was gone.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/december/the-fraudster-who-faked-his-own-death-inside-the-aubrey-lee-price-case  

You can read an earlier post on Aubrey Lee Price via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2014/01/former-bank-director-who-faked-own.html

FBI: October Is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

The FBI released the below information:
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October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month—for the ninth straight year. So what’s new?
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Well, since last October, the threat has continued to grow even more complex and sophisticated. Just 12 days ago, in fact, FBI Director Robert Mueller said that “cyber security may well become our highest priority in the years to come.”
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For its part, the FBI is strengthening its cyber operations to sharpen its focus on the greatest cyber threats to national security: computer intrusions and network attacks. We are enhancing the technological capabilities of all investigative personnel and hiring additional computer scientists to provide expert technical support to critical investigations. We are creating two distinct task forces in each field office: Cyber Task Forces, focused on intrusions and network attacks that will draw on our existing cyber squads; and Child Exploitation Task Forces, focused on crimes against children. We are also increasing the size and scope of the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force—the FBI-led multi-agency focal point for coordinating and sharing cyber threat information to stop current and future attacks.
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The FBI also runs several other cyber-related programs, including the Innocent Images National Initiative—which combats online child predators—and the Internet Crime Complaint Center—a partnership between the Bureau and the National White Collar Crime Center that serves as a clearinghouse for triaging cyber complaints and provides an easy-to-use online tool for reporting these complaints.
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Because of the interconnectedness of online systems, every American who uses digital technologies at home or in the office can—and must—play a part in cyber security. For example, if you open a virus-laden e-mail attachment at work, you could infect your entire company’s computer network. Don’t be the weakest link: get educated on cyber safety.
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Here are a few basic steps you can take to be more secure:
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Set strong passwords, and don’t share them with anyone.
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• Keep a clean machine—your operating system, browser, and other critical software are optimized by installing regular updates.
• Maintain an open dialogue with your family, friends, and community about Internet safety.
• Limit the amount of personal information you post online, and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.
• Be cautious about what you receive or read online—if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Visit the links below for more tips on protecting your computers and other electronic devices, information on cyber threats, and details on how to report cyber crimes or scams:
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- Report Cyber Crime
- How to Protect Your Computer
- Emerging E-Scams | Internet Fraud
- Keep Safe on Social Networking Sites

My On Crime & Security Column: Small Businesses Are A Tempting Target For Gang-Related Crime

 

AllBusiness.com published my On Crime & Security Column on small businesses and gang-related crime and the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment.

"Gangs continue to expand, evolve, and become more violent," said Kevin Perkins, the Assistant FBI Director, Criminal Investigative Division. "The FBI, along with its federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners, strives to disrupt and prevent their criminal activities and seek justice for innocent victims of their crimes."

But Here's the point for small business owners: Gang victims are not just inter-city kids and drug addicts. Business people located in cities, suburbs and even rural areas are also being victimized by gang-related crime.

The National Intelligence Center's assessment states that gangs are increasingly engaging in non-traditional white-collar crimes such as counterfeiting, identity theft, credit card fraud and selling stolen goods.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.allbusiness.com/allbusiness-crime-prevention/16706957-1.html