Newark, NJ – A Monmouth County man is behind bars after being sentenced to 45 months in prison for his role in a $1 million ‘upfront-fee’ scheme.
Jerrid Douglas, 49, of Freehold, New Jersey, was convicted on October 21, 2022, of wire fraud conspiracy and four counts of wire fraud following a five-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez.
According to documents in this case and evidence at trial, Douglas, along with co-defendants Roy Johannes Gillar and Harold Mignott, defrauded the owners of a victim company of approximately $1 million between March 2016 and June 2016.
The defendants fraudulently induced the victim company owners to enter a joint venture agreement with their New Jersey-based shell company. They falsely represented that their company could acquire and provide a ‘standby letter of credit’ (SBLC) backed by either €1 billion in cash or highly lucrative Mexican gold bonds.
The victim company wanted access to the standby letter of credit so it could purchase raw gold overseas and sell it to gold refineries. However, after the victim company owners transmitted $800,000 of the $1 million to the defendants, they failed to provide an SBLC or anything of value. Instead, the defendants misappropriated the money for their personal use.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Vazquez sentenced Douglas to three years of supervised release, restitution of $1.1 million, and forfeiture of $44,750.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI with the investigation leading to the sentencing.
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Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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