Top Ten FBI Stories of the Week
July 2nd, 2009
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released its top ten news stories for the week, and it was a big week for financial crimes – four of the top ten stories are financial stories. From the FBI’s press release:
1. New York: Bernard Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison
Bernard L. Madoff was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 150 years in prison for perpetrating a Ponzi scheme that resulted in billions of dollars of losses to thousands of investor-victims. He was also ordered to forfeit a total of $170,799,000,000. Full Story
2. Philadelphia: Joseph T. Lukas Pleads Guilty to Paying Bribes to Vietnamese Officials
Joseph T. Lukas, a former executive of Philadelphia-based Nexus Technologies Inc., pled guilty in connection with his participation in a conspiracy to bribe Vietnamese government officials in exchange for lucrative contracts to supply equipment and technology to Vietnamese government agencies, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Full Story
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5. New York: Eleven Charged in Massive Scheme to File Fraudulent Tax Returns Using Stolen Puerto Rican Identities
A four-count indictment charging 11 defendants for their roles in a massive scheme to steal identities of residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and file fraudulent federal and state tax returns in the names of those people seeking millions of dollars of tax refunds was unsealed. Over the course of the scheme, more than $18 million in fraudulent federal and state tax refunds were sought from the IRS, NYSDTF, and other state tax authorities. Full Story
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9. Seattle: Strip Club Mogul and Associates Indicted for RICO Conspiracy, Money Laundering and Mail Fraud
A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed charging Frank Colacurico, Sr., his son Frank Colacurcio, Jr., and four of their close associates with a Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) scheme to promote prostitution at the strip clubs they operate in the greater Seattle area, conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and twelve counts of mail fraud. Full Story
Clearly the Madoff story should top off the list (as it does), but I was a little surprised not to see the UBS filing on the list.