James Eberhart, Mail Fraud, California 2023

James Eberhart Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud, Faces Up to 10 Years in Custody

SANTA ANA, California - James Eberhart, 73, pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud before United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney.

Eberhart and co-schemer Eugene M. Carriere operated a fraudulent Newport Beach company, YES Entertainment Network, Inc., that raised nearly $13 million from investors around the country in the late 1990s.

The scheme involved dozens of 'boiler room' telemarketing firms and an unwitting celebrity spokesman, the late Tom Bosley. Eberhart and Carriere told investors that the company planned an initial public offering of its stock for the fall of 1999, which would potentially make early investments worth millions of dollars.

However, Eberhart and Carriere used only 1 percent of the investors' fund to build the YES website, and approximately 45 percent of the funds was used to pay sales commissions to the telemarketers. Most of the rest of the money was wired to bank accounts in Hong Kong and Singapore in the names of offshore corporations.

Eberhart remained a fugitive for over 12 years before being arrested in Malaysia in May 2012. He was living on a custom-built, 58-foot yacht at the time of his arrest. Eberhart faces up to 10 years in custody when he is sentenced by Judge Carney on December 8.

Carriere was a fugitive for six years before being arrested in Thailand in April 2005. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to two counts of mail fraud and was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay $12,838,045 in restitution.

Assistant Director in Charge Bill Lewis of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office said, 'Today's announcement delivers justice to many victims who waited years while Mr. Eberhart remained a fugitive, living life abroad after stealing their money.'

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S Postal Inspection Service. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provided substantial assistance on the case.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant: James Eberhart, Exact Charges: Two Counts of Mail Fraud, City and State: Santa Ana, California, Date: December 8, Sentence: Up to 10 Years in Custody, Dollar Amount: $13 million, Date of Crime: Late 1990s.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/leader-fraudulent-internet-company-and-longtime-international-fugitive-pleads-guilty-13