Andrew Dale Ledbetter, Wire Fraud and Securities Fraud, Florida 2020

MIAMI, FL – In a shocking case of greed and deceit, two south Florida securities lawyers, Andrew Dale Ledbetter and Steven Allen Schwartz, along with former Chief Operating Officer Jan Douglas Atlas, have been sentenced for their roles in a massive investment scheme that targeted over 3,600 investors in 42 states.

According to court documents, the scheme, orchestrated by 1 Global Capital LLC, a commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, involved offering high-interest ‘pay day’ loans to small businesses in the form of merchant cash advance loans (MCAs). The company’s founders, including Ledbetter and Schwartz, touted the investments as a safe and secure way to earn returns, when in reality, they were perpetuating a massive Ponzi scheme.

Andrew Dale Ledbetter, 79, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud and was sentenced to 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman. Ledbetter was also ordered to pay over $148,976,248 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

Steven Allen Schwartz, 76, of Delray Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud and was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Schwartz was also ordered to pay over $36 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

Jan Douglas Atlas, 76, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud and was sentenced to 8 months in prison. Atlas was also ordered to pay over $29 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

The scheme was uncovered after numerous investors, investment advisors, and regulators raised questions about the legitimacy of 1 Global’s investment offerings. Ledbetter and Atlas knew that if the investment offerings were determined to be securities, it would undermine the ability of 1 Global to raise funds from retail investors and continue to operate without substantial additional expenses and reporting requirements.

In a desperate attempt to keep the scheme afloat, Atlas authored two opinion letters in 2016 containing false information that he allegedly knew would be used by 1 Global to operate the business unlawfully. Ledbetter used and relied on Atlas’s opinion letters to continue to raise money illegally, in numerous pitches and communications to investment advisors and investors.

According to court documents, Ledbetter was personally involved in raising more than $100 million in investor funds that went to 1 Global, through his own pitches as well as through investment advisors he attracted to 1 Global. Over the years, Ledbetter received approximately $3 million from 1 Global, the majority of which was in the form of fees and commissions.

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