Two Ohio men, Izak Sirk De Maison, 58, and Stephen J. Wilshinsky, 59, have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud in a penny-stock scheme that bilked millions from victims in the Northern Ohio area and beyond.
According to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, De Maison, a self-described ‘merchant banker,’ devised a scheme to defraud investors by creating public ‘shell’ companies, executing a merger of an emerging business with the shell to create a publicly traded company, and then paying undisclosed kickbacks to brokers, including Wilshinsky, in exchange for using their clients’ funds to purchase shares of the resulting penny stock.
The complaint alleges that De Maison conspired with brokers, including Wilshinsky, to ensure that any time he wanted to sell free trading shares on the open market, there would be an available buyer. This was accomplished by paying brokers an undisclosed ‘kickback,’ typically fifty percent of the total sale price, in exchange for the brokers using the investor/clients’ accounts to purchase De Maison’s stocks on the open market.
‘These two are nothing more than sophisticated thieves,’ said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ‘Putting a suit on and calling it investing does not make stealing acceptable. The FBI will continue to work with the SEC to make sure these two and their additional conspirators answer for this multi-million dollar fraud.’
De Maison and Wilshinsky were taken into custody by FBI agents from the Los Angeles office without incident. They are both charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, and De Maison is also charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and use of interstate commerce for purpose of securities fraud.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are expected against these two individuals and additional individuals are expected to be charged for their roles in this multi-million dollar conspiracy. The victims of this scheme include a number of individuals from the Northern Ohio area.
The FBI and the SEC continue to work tirelessly to investigate financial fraud, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will prosecute cases as they are brought to us to ensure faith in the markets and to seek justice for those who have been victimized.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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