SCRANTON – James Abrams, 41, of Easley, South Carolina, faces 72 months of hard time for orchestrating a $1.1 million clean energy investment scam.
Abrams, the CEO of EthosGen LLC, was convicted in June 2023 after a nine-day jury trial on all 48 counts of wire and mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, unlawful monetary transactions, obstruction of justice, and false statement offenses.
Abrams provided forged documents and false information to investors to induce them to pour $1.1 million into his clean energy venture. The fabricated documentation included teaming agreements, intellectual property licenses, tax returns, and financial statements that inflated EthosGen LLC’s revenues and profitability.
The scam unraveled when Abrams used investor funds to purchase a $800,000 personal residence in Easley, South Carolina. To conceal his financial activities, Abrams transferred $700,000 through a series of bank accounts under his control and opened in the names of shell companies.
Abrams lied to investors and his own financial professionals, claiming that he used the funds to purchase company inventory for EthosGen LLC. He also provided forged bank account statements and false information to EthosGen LLC’s accounting professionals, who unknowingly included false entries in the company’s books and records.
Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Abrams to 72 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment. The jury convicted Abrams of 18 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of money laundering, and 12 counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.
Abrams’ obstruction of justice offenses included using misrepresentations and forged bank statements to induce EthosGen LLC financial professionals to create false documents and accounting records. He also met with investigators on two occasions and provided materially false statements in response to their questions.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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