Andrew Dale Ledbetter, Investment Scam, Florida 2024

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MIAMI, FL — In a shocking turn of events, two south Florida securities lawyers, Andrew Dale Ledbetter, 79, of Fort Lauderdale, and Steven Allen Schwartz, 76, of Delray Beach, along with the former Chief Operating Officer of 1 Global Capital LLC, Jan Douglas Atlas, 76, of Fort Lauderdale, face prison time for their roles in a massive 1 Global Capital investment scheme.

The scheme, which affected over 3,600 investors in 42 states, resulted in a staggering loss of $2.2 billion. According to court documents, 1 Global was a commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, that made merchant cash advance loans to small businesses at high interest rates.

Schwartz, who held the position of director and consultant at 1 Global, as well as Chief Operating Officer in the company’s marketing materials, was sentenced to 24 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay over $36 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

Andrew Dale Ledbetter, who acted in a fundraising capacity at 1 Global beginning in or around 2015, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay over $148,976,248,000 in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

Jan Douglas Atlas, who acted as outside counsel for 1 Global, was sentenced to 8 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay over $29 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme.

According to court documents, substantial questions arose during the operation of the business as to whether 1 Global was offering or selling a security and whether the investment offering was required to be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These questions were raised by investors, investment advisors, and regulators.

It was revealed that Ledbetter and Atlas knew that if 1 Global’s investment offering were determined to be a security, it would undermine the ability of 1 Global to raise funds from retail investors and to continue to operate without substantial additional expenses and reporting requirements. Such a classification would undermine the profits and fees that Ledbetter and other principals at 1 Global would be able to obtain from 1 Global’s operations.

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