Miami, Florida – In a major blow to the dark underbelly of high-stakes investment, two masterminds behind a $1.3 billion Ponzi scheme have pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud conspiracy.
On July 12, 2021, Los Angeles County natives Dane Roseman, 38, and Ivan Acevedo, 44, admitted to their involvement in a massive investment scam, which ravaged over 7,000 victims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
Co-defendant Robert Shapiro, the former owner, president, and CEO of Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC, previously received the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for his leadership role in the fraud scheme and his separate income tax fraud.
The indictment revealed that Shapiro spearheaded and concealed an enormous Ponzi scheme through his business, Woodbridge. Woodbridge employed approximately 130 people and had offices located throughout the United States, including in Boca Raton, Florida; Sherman Oaks, California; Colorado; Tennessee; and Connecticut.
The scheme ran from at least July 2012 to December 2017, when Woodbridge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and defaulted on its obligations to investors. Woodbridge falsely claimed that these investments were tied to real property owned by third parties and that the third parties would be making the interest payments to Woodbridge and its investors.
Roseman started working for Woodbridge as a sales agent in or around August 2012. Between 2015 and 2017, he served as the sales manager of Woodbridge. Acevedo started working for Woodbridge as a sales agent in or around 2009. In 2013 to December 2014, he served as the sales manager of Woodbridge.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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