Press Release
THREE DEFENDANTS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS FOR ROLES IN $826 MILLION SECURITIES FRAUD CONSPIRACY
September 25, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Eric I. Bustillo, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida on this matter, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), announced that defendants Raquel Kohler, Ameer Khan, and Stephen Ziegler were sentenced on September 24, 2007 to five (5) years' imprisonment, followed by three (3) years supervised release. In addition, U.S. District Court Judge Paul C. Huck I ordered defendants Khan and Ziegler to pay approximately $826 million in restitution, while defendant Kohler was ordered to pay a portion of this restitution amount which totals approximately $471 million. Each defendant's restitution obligation was ordered to be joint and several to the obligation of other defendants previously sentenced in connection with this fraud.
On July 17, 2007, Kohler, Khan, and Ziegler each pled guilty to an Information charging them with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §371. Raquel Kohler was the Chief Financial Officer of Mutual Benefits Corp. ("MBC"), a viatical and life settlement company that was closed by federal regulators in May 2004. Kohler helped MBC's undisclosed principals misappropriate investor money and deceived regulators about MBC's management.
Ameer Khan served as the president and nominee shareholder of Viatical Services, Inc., a related company that performed post-investment services in MBC's offering. Stephen Ziegler was an attorney who, among other duties, assisted MBC in the drafting of documents filed with state regulatory agencies. Both Khan and Ziegler concealed the identity of MBC's management personnel, who had criminal and regulatory histories.
Victims/investors may obtain information concerning this case, or submit victim impact statements concerning this case at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/VictimWitness.html.
Mr. Bustillo commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Southeast Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The matter is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew K. Levi and Special Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Dwight O'Quinn.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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