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Businesswoman Sentenced for Role in Securities Fraud Scheme
BOSTON – In a shocking turn of events, Kelly Black-White, 52, of Mesa, Ariz., has been sentenced for her role in a fraudulent scheme in which executives agreed to pay secret kickbacks to an investment fund representative.
Black-White, the principal of Premier Funding, Inc. and Premier Services, Inc., provides investor and public relations services to publicly traded companies. Her role involved referring such executives to the investment fund representative so that those executives could enter into the kickback arrangement. In exchange, Black-White accepted a portion of the kickbacks paid by the executives.
Unbeknownst to Black-White, the purported investment fund representative was actually an undercover federal agent. Her conviction and sentence followed a year-long investigation focusing on preventing fraud in the microcap stock markets.
Microcap companies are small publicly-traded companies whose stock often trades at pennies a share. Fraud in the microcap markets is of increasing concern to regulators as such markets have proven to be fertile grounds for fraud and abuse.
Black-White was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to one year and one day in prison, two years of supervised release, a $7,500 fine and forfeiture of the illegal earnings. In September 2013, Black-White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud.
To date, 14 other individuals have been charged and convicted for their participation in the kickback scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which conducted a parallel civil investigation alongside the FBI undercover operation, cooperated with criminal authorities in bringing these charges.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vassili Thomadakis, Eric P. Christofferson, and Sarah E. Walters of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
The case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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