Investment Fraud Schemes Exposed in Reno, Nevada
A former financial advisor with Bank of America has pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion charges for defrauding six persons of over $2 million during 2010 and 2011, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Gary H. Lane, 60, of Reno, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones to 12 counts of mail fraud and five counts of attempt to evade or defeat tax.
Lane is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., and faces up to 20 years in prison for each mail fraud count and up to five years in prison on each tax count, as well as fines of up to $250,000 per count.
According to the indictment, Lane was employed as a financial advisor by Bank of America Investment Services, which later merged with Merrill Lynch, until March 2011. During the course of Lane’s employment, he allegedly developed a scheme to entice persons to invest monies with him through the use of an E-Trade account rather than through normal bank procedures.
Lane allegedly looked for investors who were elderly or lacked investing experience and had a desire for high returns and aversion to risk. Lane told the investors that their funds would be invested in U.S. Treasury Bonds which would pay better than six percent interest and would mature in two years.
Lane corroborated the trades by creating false confirmations and distributing them to the victims by mail. After receiving the monies from the victims, Lane gave them to his spouse who mailed them to her E-Trade account. The monies were then withdrawn at Lane’s direction for his own use or to pay other investors.
Using this scheme, the indictment alleges that Lane defrauded approximately six victims of over $2 million between January 2010 and March 2011. Lane also allegedly filed false and fraudulent individual tax returns for the years 2006 through 2010, substantially understating his income and tax due and owing to the IRS.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Nevada Secretary of State Securities Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Rachow.
This case was handled in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
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Key Facts
- State: Nevada
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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