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Defendant Name, Crime, State Year
A former online brokerage employee has been brought to justice for his role in a complex kick-back scheme that bilked his company out of more than $1.5 million.
Augustine Olobia, a 49-year-old former Seattle employee of ShareBuilder, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with the scheme, which involved one of ShareBuilder’s affiliates, Tega Creative.
Olobia worked at ShareBuilder from 1999 to 2013 and was responsible for managing the third-party vendors who advertised ShareBuilder’s services.
The scheme involved a ‘bounty system’ where ShareBuilder paid Tega Creative $40-$55 per account that was opened after a customer came to ShareBuilder via Tega Creative’s advertisement.
Olobia manipulated data in ShareBuilder’s computer system to inflate the number of account openings attributable to Tega Creative’s marketing, and then approved invoices issued by Tega Creative that were based on the inflated numbers.
The scheme was uncovered when Olobia left ShareBuilder, and other employees tried to reconcile the number of accounts attributed to Tega Creative.
Olobia is set to be sentenced on July 12, 2019, and 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 and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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