Sacramento Businessman Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for $100 - FBI While tracing its origin back at least 80 years, the past decade has been unprecedented in terms of the number and severity of Ponzi schemes. 1B1.13. Therefore, the Court need not address whether Defendant is a danger to the community or the 18 U.S.C. Bernie Madoffs scam was merely one of more than 500 Ponzi schemes of $1 million or more that collectively involved over $50. - Check with federal and state securities regulators to find out if there have been any complaints against the company or person youre thinking of doing business with. at 4.) Persaud is currently serving a three-year sentence in federal prison. Calif. Bank & Trust Beats Suit Over Depositor's Ponzi Scheme Fri, Aug 12 2016 4:30 PM EDT. He falsely claimed that these companies did tens of millions of dollars in business with federal agencies every year, most notably the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley ordered Wannakuwatte to forfeit multiple properties, vehicles, business interests, and bank accounts to be used to provide restitution to victims. I want to commend the FBI and IRS-CI for detecting and swiftly stopping this scheme before it caused even greater losses., Wanakuwattes victimsindividuals, businesses, government agencies, venture funds, and financial institutionssuffered as his elaborate scheme collapsed. We thank the IRS Criminal Investigation and FDIC Office of Inspector General for their partnership throughout this investigation. The fraud has aged him and I pray daily he will survive.. The Government also submits Defendant's BOP medical records filed under seal which do not include any information about Defendant's claimed serious lung disorders, severely compromised immune system, or gastrointestinal bleeding. All rights reserved. No matter the type, a Ponzi scheme has a predictable and inevitable dire outcome, but some are certainly more notable than others. {{currentYear}} American Bar Association, all rights reserved. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. The scheme, which spanned decades, ultimately caused at least $17 billion in losses to thousands of investors. Fax Line:(916) 554-2900. Foundation v. Wannakuwate, 2:14-cv-0662 KJM CKD PS | Casetext Search From 2005 to 2010, the Hibberts oversaw a congregation at the Masonic Church of God in Torontos east end. Toronto police have also been unable to account for several million dollars, which they believe was diverted to an offshore bank account in Panama. 135.) Wannakuwatte ran a Ponzi scheme in California through his company, International Manufacturing Groupone where money from new investors goes to interest payments from older investorsfor nearly a decade before the scam imploded in 2014. - Request written financial informationsuch as a prospectus, annual reports, or financial statementsthen compare the written information to what you were told. Nine of his victims made statements to the court, either in person or by letters read out loud by the prosecutor. SACRAMENTO, Calif. Deepal Wannakuwatte, 63, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for a long-running fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller of the FBIs Sacramento Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon for the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and Special Agent in Charge Wade V. Walters of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Ultimately, Wannakuwatte obtained well over $230 million from his victims. Wannakuwatte, dressed in his orange Sacramento County jailhouse uniform, sat at the defense table and stared at the floor as Ashley berated him. The exposure was gigantic, Heller said. To date, prosecutors have obtained at least 14 convictions including a guilty plea from Madoffs brother, Peter Madoff. No Thanks Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. According to court documents, from 2002 to 2014, Wannakuwatte convinced nearly 200 victims, including individuals, corporate entities, and financial institutions, to invest in a number of business opportunities by misrepresenting the financial worth of himself and his companies. Subscribe 501 I Street, Suite 10-100 Even when excluding the three largest Ponzi schemes, the average scheme size was still $43.3 million. . This New York investment adviser rose to prominence through high-profile leadership positions in the financial industry, including a stint as non-executive chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. See, e.g., United States v. Eberhart, No. Deepal Wannakuwatte, the former owner of the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals professional tennis team, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for perpetrating one of the costliest Ponzi. Ultimately, Wannakuwatte obtained well over $230 million from his victims. His plea followed weeks of negotiations between his lawyer and federal prosecutors. Rather than having annual sales of $100 million, it appeared that annual sales were closer to $25,000. In return, those affiliates were handsomely rewarded with daily returns of 1.5%. Based on the record before it, the Court cannot say that the past prevalence of the disease at USP Lompoc puts Defendant at great and particularized risk. Even after the trio accepted guilty pleas from state prosecutors, Steven Palladino recently landed in more trouble when federal prosecutors indicted him on 25 charges of criminal contempt. And while his victims suffered, Wannakuwatte purchased luxury homes, vehicles, airplanes, and even a professional tennis team. GDC Stock Alert: Why Is GD Culture Group Up 700% Today? UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. DEEPAL WANNAKUWATTE, Defendant. Put another way, a Ponzi scheme was uncovered, on average, once every four days from 2008 to 2013. The sentence wasnt a surprise; it matched the terms of a plea agreement Wannakuwatte made with prosecutors in May. The $50 billion in Ponzi schemes uncovered from 2008 to 2013 would rank in the top 75 countries in the world in terms of gross domestic product. It didnt. Madoffs Jewish heritage attracted a large amount of Jewish investors, and his stature in the financial industry was enough for numerous charitable and educational foundations to entrust their money to him. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. American Greed airs Thursdays at 10pm on CNBC. Deepal took full advantage of him in any way he could, she wrote. Financial Market Data powered by FinancialContent Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Call The Bees Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066. Investors were told that an investment in JCS Enterprises involved the purchase of a virtual concierge machine (VCM) that resembled an automatic teller machine and allowed users to view advertisements for products or services. SACRAMENTO, Calif. Deepal Wannakuwatte, 63, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud in furtherance of a long-running and large-scale fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller of the FBI's Sacramento Field Office, Jose M. Martinez Special Agent in Charge for Interested congregants were required to invest at least $10,000 with Mr. Hibbert, and at least $8.6 million was raised from approximately 200 parishioners. The victims will never be whole again from the fraud totaling more than $230 million, but rest assured they will have the comfort of knowing Wannakuwatte will be incarcerated for many years to come. Wannakuwatte will be sentenced July 24 by U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley. Wannakuwatte subsequently drew down the line of credit, taking approximately $4.3 million from Bridge Bank. Donnie Wahlberg Pokes Fun At Brother In Wahlburgers Ads, 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC. 1B1.13, cmt. Justice in Decade-Long Ponzi Scheme FBI Deepal Wannakuwatte, owner of the Las Vegas Neon, was arrested Thursday in Sacramento, Calif., on federal fraud charges. Show Crime Records Powered by. Have a question about Government Services? Defendant requests the Court reduce his term of imprisonment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Defendant fails to persuade the Court that his hypertension qualifies as "extraordinary and compelling" reason for release within the context of 18 U.S.C. From 2002 until his arrest in February 2014, Wannakuwatte defrauded between 150 and 200 individuals, companies, and government entities out of $230,000,000 through a classic Ponzi scheme. The sentence imposed today is tantamount to a life sentence, although no amount of prison time will undo the harm he caused to so many victims. But the hourlong hearing in U.S. District Court didnt lack for drama. View Crime Records & Information Of Inmate Deepal Wannakuwatte Get FBI email alerts These claims were not true but were made in order to appear more credit worthy. Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. DEEPAL WANNAKUWATTE, Defendant. SACRAMENTO, CAOn Thursday, a federal judge ordered Deepal Wannakuwatte, 64, of Sacramento, to pay $108,199,425 in restitution to victims of his long-running fraud scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today. With the millions he collected, Wannakuwatte a former owner of the now defunctSacramento Capitals professional tennis team bought real estate in Hawaii, Oregon and California. Wannakuwatte was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Georgia to play tennis in college. There, the judge said, Deepal, you are a sociopath. From Bernie Madoff to bogus emu investments, these 10 Ponzi schemes turned heads with their big sums and odd natures. Cal. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. He falsely claimed that his companies did tens of millions of dollars in business with federal agencies every year, most notably the Department of Veterans Affairs. Court:UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. In addition to prison time, each of the men was ordered to pay restitution to scheme victims. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. In early December 2011, Wannakuwatte set up a conference call between himself, an IMG employee, and a Bridge Bank representative. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 21, 2014. As an aside, IMG actually had been in business for more than 25 years and actually did sell gloves and other supplies to businesses, including medical providers. He's now serving a 20-year sentence for fraud. And in 2012, Bank of Internet issued a $1.26 million mortgage to Deepal Wannakuwatte, a Sacramento businessman who received a 20-year prison sentence last year for operating, for more than 10 . See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html (listing pulmonary hypertension but not essential (primary) hypertension and indicating those with hypertension should manage their blood pressure by taking medication as directed) (last visited July 22, 2020). Sacramento businessman Deepal Wannakuwatte indicted on bank fraud Defendant made a request to the warden on April 23, 2020. Indeed, authorities alleged that Rocco even used his position as club president to withdraw nearly $67,000 from the clubs bank accounts a move that nearly depleted club coffers if not for the generosity of club benefactors to cover the shortfalls. KVUE Stock IPO: When Does Kenvue Go Public? However, in August 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an emergency civil enforcement action and accused ZeekRewards and its founder, Paul Burks, of masterminding a massive Ponzi scheme that was on the verge of collapse. Wannakuwatte has been in custody since his arrest on February 21, 2014. In sum, the Court DENIES Defendant's request for compassionate release because Defendant has not met his burden to show there are extraordinary and compelling reasons for his release. In an unusual turn, when it was revealed that at least 100,000 emus were abandoned and left to starve, the Indian government was forced to step in and purchase $200,000 in emergency rations to feed the emus. Under his original indictment, Wannakuwatte could have received up to 90 years in prison. Investors are promised above-average returns that generally carry little risk. Prosecutors have said the net loss to investors came to $109 million.

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