Related Federal Cases
- Barry Carlton Taylor, Securities Fraud, North Carolina 2024 · North Carolina
- Ricky McMillian, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, North Carolina 2023 · North Carolina
- Brent Allan Dilonardo, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, North Carolina 2016 · North Carolina
- Robert Warren, Crop Insurance Fraud, North Carolina 2003 · North Carolina
- Christopher Bryan Roach, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft, North Carolina 2017 · North Carolina
Securities Scam: Frank Enrique Lleras Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison
A Charlotte man, Frank Enrique Lleras, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for his role in a securities fraud scheme involving bogus real estate investments.
On [Today’s Date], United States District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. handed down the sentence in the Western District of North Carolina. Lleras, 31, was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision after he is released from prison, and to pay $2.7 million dollars in restitution to his victims.
According to documents filed with the court, Lleras was the managing member of Optimum Income Property Investments, LLC (Optimum), a real estate investment company that purported to make money for victim investors by purchasing distressed and foreclosed real estate, and then reselling or leasing those properties.
From about 2013 to about 2014, Lleras induced more than 20 victim investors from the Dominican Republic medical community to invest approximately $3,000,000 in the fraudulent real estate scheme. Lleras provided fraudulent investment statements, fabricated deeds, and bogus real estate tax bill receipts to convince his victim investors that the scheme was legitimate.
Court documents also indicate that Lleras did not invest victim investor funds but instead diverted their money to other business ventures and to support his personal lifestyle, including to purchase expensive jewelry.
Lleras pleaded guilty in January 2016 to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. He will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation of the case was led by the FBI and USPIS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime