James Parker, $20M Fraud, California 2022

Michael R. Casey, a fugitive for over four years, has finally been caught and is scheduled to have his initial appearance today at 1:30 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis in Miami, Florida. Casey, 71, is wanted on federal charges related to an alleged $20 million investment fraud scheme.

Casey, originally of Fort Lauderdale, and his co-defendants Patricia S. Aa of Tampa, Louis N. Gallo, III of Parkland, and James C. Howard, III of Parkland, allegedly defrauded individuals who invested in Commodities Online LLC (COL). According to allegations contained in the court record, Casey and his co-conspirators used material false and fraudulent representations and material omissions to obtain over $20 million from over 700 investors.

Casey and his co-conspirators allegedly used COL to sell COL ownership units, subscriptions to the COL website, and investments in purported transactions to buy and sell commodities. After receiving the funds for the COL ownership units, Howard and Saa diverted a large part of those funds for other purposes. Shortly after that, Casey became President of COL and learned that substantial investor funds had been diverted and did not disclose it to investors.

Casey and his co-conspirators offered investors the opportunity to fund purported contracts to buy and sell commodities. They represented to investors that COL had a track record of profits on these purported contracts, but in reality, COL did not have profits. Casey and his co-conspirators also made material misrepresentations and omissions about the leaders of COL, including representing that Howard was no longer managing COL when in fact, he remained in charge.

On August 30, 2012, Casey was charged by indictment in Case No. 12-20630-Cr-Lenard, along with Howard, Saa, and Gallo, with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and several counts of mail and wire fraud. Howard, Saa, Gallo, and another defendant, Rita Balbirer, were also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and various counts of money laundering.

Casey’s co-conspirators have already faced justice. In September 2013, Howard, the founder of COL, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and was sentenced to 189 months in prison. In August 2014, Gallo, a leader in the scheme, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and was sentenced to 168 months in prison. In July 2014, Balbirer, an assistant to Gallo, pled guilty to two counts of money laundering and was sentenced to 17 months in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Marshals Service (USMS). The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Amos Rojas, Jr., United States Marshal, United States Marshals Service (USMS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

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