Tag: financial crimes
Christopher Ferguson, Pandemic Profit Inflation, Illinois 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, Securities Fraud, New York 2020
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.…
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…
Irina Segal, Medicare Bill Inflation, Pennsylvania 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…
Tracey Hernandez, Tax Refund Scheme, North Carolina 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…
Luciano Schipelliti, Wire Fraud, Massachusetts 2021
⏱ 2 min read Luciano Schipelliti, 28, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, allegedly ran a two-year con that left investors nearly $625,000 in the hole. The feds say Schipelliti launched a pair of cryptocurrency investment funds – Superstars Fund in late 2018 and TTM Fund in February 2021 – then promptly lost their money on bad bets.…
James Pavlounis, Social Security Disability Benefits Fraud, New York 2025
⏱ 3 min read James Pavlounis, 53, is trading his New Rochelle address for a federal prison cell after admitting to a decade-plus con. For 12 years, starting January 2013, Pavlounis pocketed $646,370 in bogus Social Security disability payments while secretly raking in cash from his valet parking business, Select Parking Systems Inc. – and…
Bradley Temple, COVID-19 Relief Fund Embezzlement, Alabama 2023
⏱ 2 min read Bradley Temple, 48, the former CEO of a Wheeling, Alabama business, copped a plea this week to a felony charge for ripping off nearly $300,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. The feds say Temple wasn’t using the cash to keep his business afloat, but lining his own pockets. The scheme unfolded sometime…
