_________::::___#510 - November 21, 2007________________
FRAUDBARON.com
The Anti-Fraud Professionals'
Source for Fraud News
#510 Updated: 11/21/07 10:19 a.m.

Newport Beach Ponzi Scheme Guilty Plea
FBI.gov | 11/14/07 | Press Release
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A Newport Beach man has agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud and
money laundering charges and to admit that he ran a bogus investment program that
promised rates of return of at least 10 percent per quarter.  John Carl Willy, 64, was
charged in a criminal information filed here yesterday in United States District Court. The
three-count information charges Willy with two counts of wire fraud and one count of
money laundering. In a plea agreement filed this afternoon, Willy agreed to plead guilty to
the three charges, which carry a statutory maximum penalty of 50 years in federal prison.
In the plea agreement, Willy acknowledges that he induced investors to give him money by
falsely promising to use the investors' funds to generate returns through investment in a
European investment program. Using the business names Coastal View Investments (CVI)
and Luxin Limited, Willy told investors that these entities participated in a program through
the Federal Reserve Bank that allowed CVI and Luxin to deposit funds with a bank in
London, and that European banks could use the funds as collateral. Willy falsely promised
investors that the funds would never leave the London bank account and that the program
was protected by an insurance policy underwritten by AIG.  Victims were told that their
money would earn 10 percent every quarter.  However, as he admitted in the plea
agreement, Willy used the investors' funds to enrich himself, to operate CVI and Luxin, and
to further promote the scheme. He used investor money to buy a home in Newport Coast,
as well as to acquire automobiles, including a Cadillac Escalade and Porsche Cayenne SUV.
In a classic Ponzi scheme, Willy also used money from new investors to make quarterly
payments to earlier investors, thereby concealing the fraudulent scheme by making earlier
investors believe they were earning the promised rate of return. The government and Willy
have agreed that victims have lost at least $4,192,929 as a result of the scheme.

Check Kiter Indicted
FBI.gov | 11/15/07 | Press Release
Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that a
federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned an indictment today against Thomas J.
Cutura charging him with one count of bank fraud.  Thomas J. Cutura, age 37, is a resident
of Sheffield Village, Ohio. The indictment alleges that Cutura defrauded National City Bank
and Park View Federal Savings Bank by engaging in a substantial check-kite from July 2006
until September 2007. The indictment further alleges that Cutura wrote several hundred
checks totaling about $354 million drawn on accounts he maintained at Park View and used
them to purchase official checks at National City Bank. The indictment further states that
Cutura then deposited the official checks into his Park View accounts to cover the checks he
had originally written. The indictment alleges that Cutura knew full well that he had
insufficient funds to cover the checks he had written.  The indictment further charges that
National City Bank discovered Cutura’s fraudulent activity on September 6, 2007 and
returned unpaid to Park View Federal six checks totaling $5.7 million. It is alleged that, as a
result of Cutura’s fraudulent check-kiting activity, National City Bank sustained a loss of
$2.85 million.  If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after
review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any,
defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all case the
sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the
maximum.

Over $780,000 Recovered for Defrauded Southwest Missouri Investors
infozine.com | 11/21/07 | Staff Writer
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan appeared today in Springfield, Mo., to announce
the completion of an investigation resulting in the recovery over $780,000 in restitution
from a firm whose former employee defrauded Missouri investors. Some of the investors
receiving restitution were on hand for the announcement.  Jefferson City, MO - infoZine -
Carnahan's Commissioner of Securities, Matt Kitzi, entered into a consent order on
November 9, 2007, with Investment Centers of America ("ICA"), the former employer of a
Joplin-area investment adviser, Mark L. Henry, who defrauded investors out of over
$800,000. The order will recover over one million dollars in restitution, fines and penalties.
Mark L. Henry was a Missouri-registered agent and investment adviser for ICA from October
1994 until September 2005. After his termination, Henry used a personal bank account to
fraudulently continue conducting business as a representative of "Investment Centers of
America." Henry placed his clients' funds into this personal account and used the money to
pay off other clients and for personal expenses. One of Mr. Henry's clients reported his
suspicious activities to our office.  Facing improper supervision charges, ICA entered into
the consent order and is paying restitution to investors in the amount of $788,000. The
company has also agreed to pay $200,000 to the Missouri Investor Education and
Protection Fund, a civil penalty to the state of $25,000 and $18,500 for the cost of the
investigation. In addition, ICA must hire an independent consultant to review and monitor
company policies and procedures.  "This case shows that one watchful citizen who reports
suspicious activities by their adviser or broker can stop fraud and scams from happening,"
said Carnahan. "Because of these reports to our office I am proud to say individuals
were able to recover savings that they have worked a lifetime for."  Henry did not file a
response to the Securities Division's charges against him, and a final order was entered in
his case in March, ordering Henry to pay over $28,000 in penalties and costs. Henry has
failed to make payments, and the matter has been referred to the Missouri Attorney
General for collection. The Henry case was also referred to Federal law enforcement
agencies, and Henry pleaded guilty to federal securities fraud and tax fraud charges.

SEC charges Edward May, E-M Management with fraud
reuters.com | 11/20/07 | Staff Writer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges
on Tuesday against Edward May and E-M Management Co LLC for raising as much as $250
million over nearly a decade through an allegedly fraudulent scheme involving phony Las
Vegas casino and resort telecommunications deals.  May, a Detroit area resident, and E-M
Management have been charged with selling investors shares of limited liability companies
they said pulled in revenues from contracts with telecommunication equipment and services
and hotel casino resorts.  But the SEC said the contracts never existed and some investors
were provided with copies of fictitious contracts between E-M Management and certain
LLCs and various hotels and casinos. The SEC is seeking preliminary and permanent
injunctions against May and E-M Management, as well as civil penalties and disgorgement
of ill-gotten gains.  The agency said the scheme victimized as many as 1,200 investors,
many of whom were senior citizens. May and E-M Management relied on a network of
individuals to entice investors, some of who organized "investment seminars," the SEC said.
Calls to the lawyer representing May and E-M Management were not immediately returned.

Guilty Plea in Hospital Bond Fraud Case
Houston Chronicle | 11/20/07 | Mike Robinson, AP
CHICAGO — An adviser to former Gov. George Ryan has admitted that he knew $1 million in
tax-exempt bond proceeds was being illegally siphoned out of a medical school construction
project but told no one.  John Glennon pleaded guilty Monday to failing to report a felony
and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors who declined to say if he might take the
witness stand at the planned trial of political fundraiser Tony Rezko.  Glennon, 55, admitted
in his signed plea agreement that he got $700,000 in monthly payments of $28,000 each
from contractor Jacob Kiferbaum as part of a construction project at a Chicago medical
school.  The school was known as The Finch University of Health Science-Chicago Medical
School. It has since changed its name and is now Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine
and Science.  Glennon, of Lake Forest, admitted in the plea agreement that he knew
Kiferbaum had illegally inflated the cost of the project, an addition to a North Chicago
academic building, by a total of $1 million.  Glennon pleaded guilty to the specific charge of
knowing that the money was misapplied because it came from tax-exempt bond proceeds
that were restricted by law in how they were used and could not be paid to him. He had
initially been charged with making false statements to agents and aiding and abetting a
fraud.  Kiferbaum has already pleaded guilty to charges in the case.  Glennon sat on the
board of Ryan's campaign fund and was an adviser to Ryan's multi-billiondollar
Illinois First public works program. The scheme was part of a larger array of corruption
Levine admits masterminding. Levine is no longer a member of the school's board.
Levine is expected to be a major witness if Rezko goes to trial as scheduled in February on
charges of shaking down money management companies that wanted to do business with
the $30 billion fund that pays the pensions of downstate and suburban school teachers.
Levine and Glennon each were members of the board of the Illinois Teachers Retirement
System under Ryan and served briefly under current Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (Excpert)

Former account clerk charged with theft
thelantern.com | 11/20/07 | Briony Clare
A former Ohio State employee with a previous embezzlement conviction has now been
charged with stealing $13,564 from OSU while employed in the University Libraries'
business office, according to OSU police and court records.  Wendy L. Adcock, a 39-year-old
former account clerk in the administrative services department for University Libraries, was
indicted Sept. 14 and charged with theft and theft in office during the period of August 2006
to December 2006, said Rick Amweg, director of public safety for OSU police.  Adcock
entered a plea of not guilty on both counts at her Nov. 7 arraignment and was released on
a $5,000 bond, according to court records.  Adcock is currently serving a three-year
probation after pleading guilty to theft at her previous embezzlement trial in March 2006.
She was indicted September 2005 on counts of theft and tampering with records for
stealing more than $11,000 from the Obetz Comfort Inn, her employer at the time, during
the period of October 2004 to March 2005, according to court records.  Adcock was hired by
University Libraries, July 15, 2005.  OSU police were notified in January 2007 of
discrepancies in the library's accounts by another employee in the administrative office and
found evidence of improperly reconciled money between August 2006 and December 2006,
Amweg said.  An internal audit was conducted and led police to Adcock as the suspect.
"She was an employee of the university and was in an assignment that involved handling
money," Amweg said. "She was able to move university funds to her own use."  Police
refused to provide details of how Adcock was able to steal the money or how she was
implicated as the prime suspect because the investigation is ongoing and evidence is
currently being prepared to be presented in court, Amweg said.  Adcock resigned from
University Libraries Jan. 25, giving the customary two weeks notice, to accept a position as
an office administrative associate with General Internal Medicine for the OSU College of
Medicine, said Larry Allen, a spokesman for University Libraries. Allen refused to say
whether Adcock resigned before or after the police investigation began, but he did mention
she left on her own initiative. University spokesman Jim Lynch said Adcock's employment
with OSU ended Friday, Nov. 16.  A trial date has yet to be set. If Adcock is found guilty of
the current charges against her, she will serve an 11-month jail sentence for violating the
terms of her probation according to court documents detailing the terms of her probation, in
addition to the sentence she would receive for stealing money from OSU.

Judge orders suspect in D.C. scam held
Washington Times | 11/20/07 | Staff Writer
A federal judge yesterday ordered a woman accused in a D.C. government embezzlement
scam held in jail.  Judge Deborah K. Chasanow denied a request by an attorney for Jayrece
E. Turnbull to have her released, agreeing with the prosecution that Miss Turnbull
presented a flight risk and could have access to resources that would allow her to leave the
country.  Miss Turnbull is one of five initial persons arrested in connection with the theft of
at least $20 million from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue in a massive scheme involving
fraudulent property-tax refunds.  U.S. Attorney Jonathan Su said Miss Turnbull, a Bowie
resident, was one of the scam's leaders because she created shell companies to funnel
money through and helped route and deposit more than 30 phony refund checks worth $12
million.  Miss Turnbull has family in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the father of her children is in
the Dominican Republic, attorneys said. Mr. Su said she could have access to the millions of
stolen dollars federal officials still have not located and that she might leave the country.
Miss Turnbull's attorney, federal public defender Michael T. CitaraManis, argued that the
government did not present any objective evidence to keep Miss Turnbull locked up.
"Just having the means and motive [to flee] is not enough to detain someone," Mr.
CitaraManis said.
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Joeseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA