Augustine Olobia, Wire Fraud, Washington 2013

Defendant Augustine Olobia, a 49-year-old former employee of online brokerage firm ShareBuilder, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a kick-back scheme involving one of ShareBuilder’s affiliates. The scheme, which took place from 2008 to 2013, involved inflating the number of customers who opened trading accounts after viewing and clicking on links placed in ads by Texas-based affiliate Tega Creative.

According to the plea agreement, Olobia falsified data and approved payment of invoices that inflated the number of customers who opened trading accounts after viewing and clicking on links placed in ads by Tega Creative. The inflated numbers increased revenue to Tega Creative, and Olobia was secretly paid about half the net income Tega Creative received.

The loss to ShareBuilder’s owner, Capital One, is estimated at more than $1.5 million. The scheme was uncovered when Olobia left ShareBuilder, and other employees tried to reconcile the number of accounts attributed to Tega Creative. In January 2014, Olobia prepared a spreadsheet that tried to further the fraud and reconcile the accounts. However, the spreadsheet did not end the company’s investigation and the case was referred to law enforcement.

U.S. District Court in Seattle, the court where the case was heard, scheduled sentencing for July 12, 2019. Prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than 18 months in prison. Judge Robert S. Lasnik is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence up to the maximum of twenty years in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion is prosecuting the case.

Defendant: Augustine Olobia

Criminal Charges: Wire Fraud

City and State: Seattle, Washington

Exact Date: 2013

Sentence or Outcome: Sentencing scheduled for July 12, 2019, with a recommended sentence of no more than 18 months in prison

Dollar Amounts: Over $1.5 million in losses to ShareBuilder’s owner, Capital One

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/former-online-brokerage-employee-pleads-guilty-wire-fraud