Press Release
SIX CHARGED IN SECURITIES FRAUD SCHEME
December 07, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Division, announced the unsealing of five separate indictments charging six defendants in connection with an ongoing securities fraud scheme involving corrupt stock promoters and officers of publically traded companies. Charged in the fraud scheme were defendants Ron Williams, 57, of Miami, Florida, Mark Foglia, 52, of Hypoluxo, Florida, Virgil Williams, 62, of Escondido, California, Rex Morden, 57, of Henderson, Nevada, Efrim Gjonbalaj, 35, of Boynton Beach, Florida , and William Haynes, 42, of Palm City, Florida.
According to the indictments, during this undercover FBI operation, an FBI agent purported to be a corrupt manager of an unregulated hedge fund, called Fillmore Capital. During the course of the undercover investigation, the defendants agreed to pay an undisclosed kickback to the purported manager of the hedge fund if the manager caused Fillmore Capital to purchase certain specified securities. The defendants also agreed to hide the kickbacks to the purported manager through a sham consulting contract.
If convicted of all counts, defendant Ron Williams faces a maximum of twenty (20) years’ incarceration and a fine of $250,000 on each count. Defendants Mark Foglia, Virgil Williams, Rex Morden, Efrim Gjonbalaj, and William Haynes each face a maximum of twenty (20) years’ incarceration and a fine of $500,000 on each securities fraud count. Additionally, defendants Efrim Gjonbalaj and William Haynes face a maximum of five (5) years’ incarceration and a fine of $250,000 on the conspiracy count, and up to twenty (20) years’ incarceration and a fine of $250,000 on each wire/mail fraud count.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Miami Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission for its technical expertise and cooperation during the undercover investigation. These cases are being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Rolando Garcia and Emalyn Webber.
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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