Tag: financial crimes
David Quinones Sentenced to 4+ Years for SNAP Wire Fraud, Chicago I…
Chicago – David Quinones, 45, will spend the next four years and four months behind bars for systematically defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. The feds sentenced Quinones yesterday after he pleaded guilty to a single count of federal wire fraud, a charge stemming from a brazen, five-year scheme…
Christopher Guilford, Tax Refund Scheme, Sacramento CA, 2025
Sacramento resident Christopher Guilford, 54, will spend the next four years and beyond behind bars after a federal jury found him guilty of orchestrating a brazen $1.17 million tax refund scheme. The conviction, handed down October 30, 2025, caps a months-long investigation that exposed Guilford’s meticulously crafted fraud, built on bogus tax filings and a…
Eijroghene Okuma, $10M Investment Fraud, Atlanta GA, 2023
Atlanta, GA – A former Edward Jones advisor is facing years in federal prison after admitting to a brazen scheme that robbed an 80-year-old Georgia man of nearly $10 million. Eijroghene Okuma, 48, systematically exploited the trust placed in him, pilfering the victim’s life savings over a 16-month period. The case, which surfaced this week,…
Christopher Ferguson, Pandemic Profit Inflation, Chicago IL, 2023
The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic weren’t just a public health crisis; they were a feeding frenzy for scammers. Now, the top executives at Edison Nation, a once-promising consumer products company, are facing the music for inflating their pandemic profits. Christopher Ferguson, 58, the CEO and chairman, and Brian McFadden, a consultant, both confessed…
Christopher Ferguson, PPE Order Fabrication, New York NY, 2023
Wall Street greed reached a new low during the pandemic, and two men are now facing the music. Christopher Ferguson, the former CEO of Edison Nation, and Brian McFadden, a consultant, confessed in federal court today to cooking the books and misleading investors with a fabricated $10 million PPE order. The scheme, revealed by federal…
Christopher Ferguson, PPE Scam, New York NY, 2023
The pandemic was a breeding ground for desperation – and for grifters. Christopher Ferguson, the CEO and chairman of Edison Nation, and Brian McFadden, a consultant for the consumer product firm, learned that lesson well. Both men have now admitted to fabricating a $10 million order for personal protective equipment (PPE) at the height of…
Christopher Ferguson, Securities Fraud, New York NY, 2023
NEW YORK – The CEO of Edison Nation, Christopher Ferguson, and consultant Brian McFadden confessed in Manhattan Federal Court to fabricating a $10 million order to inflate the company’s value. The pair pleaded guilty to deceiving the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) after a major hand sanitizer deal fell through during the pandemic’s PPE rush.…
Irina Segal, Medicare Bill Inflation, Philadelphia PA, 2023
PHILADELPHIA – Bucks County’s Segal Arts, LLC, and owner Irina Segal avoided criminal charges, but will repay $200,000 to Medicare after a federal investigation revealed a scheme to inflate bills. The company allegedly billed the program for one-on-one occupational therapy that never happened, instead offering group art sessions at nursing homes in Pennsylvania and New…
Nitesh Ratnakar, Tax Evasion, West Virginia, 2023
⏱ 3 min read Wheeling gastroenterologist Nitesh Ratnakar, 50, learned a hard lesson in Elkins federal court today – nearly $2.5 million in unpaid payroll taxes will get you 41 months in prison. Ratnakar, who also owns a medical equipment manufacturer, systematically stiffed the IRS, pilfering funds he’d already withheld from his employees’ paychecks. From…
Tracey Hernandez, Tax Refund Scheme, Burlington NC, 2022
⏱ 3 min read Tracey Hernandez, 39, of Burlington, North Carolina, is headed to federal prison for 25 months after pleading guilty to cooking up a million-dollar tax refund scheme. The feds say Hernandez filed over 200 bogus tax returns for clients in 2021 and 2022, raking in fraudulent refunds. The sentencing came down this…
