Edison Execs Faked $10M Order: Plea Deals

⏱ 2 min read

The hustle for pandemic profits turned criminal. Christopher Ferguson, former CEO of Edison Nation, and Brian McFadden, a consultant for the firm, both pleaded guilty in federal court today to cooking the books. They confessed to faking $10 million in purchase orders after a massive deal for hand sanitizer went belly-up, all to keep investors happy.

The scheme blew up when the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) – the folks who keep Wall Street honest – demanded proof of the reported orders. Instead of coughing up the real deal, Ferguson and McFadden allegedly fabricated documents to cover their tracks. The company had jumped into the PPE game at the start of the pandemic, hoping to cash in on the skyrocketing demand for masks and sanitizer.

Court papers show they knew the $9 million sanitizer deal was dead on arrival, but still went ahead with a press release touting over $10 million in PPE orders. It wasn’t just bad business, according to US Attorney Jay Clayton; it was a deliberate attempt to deceive investors and regulators. Ferguson pleaded guilty January 28, 2026, and McFadden followed on March 16, 2026.

Both men are looking at sentencing now, and a likely stay in federal lockup. The feds haven’t said exactly what the ask will be, but fabricating financial records to juice stock prices rarely goes easy on Wall Street types.