| |  | | | | | | 24 Hour Assistance
call toll free: (800) 931-0450 | more info | | | | Need Bail
(562) 597-7377 (562) 858-1450 | more info | | | | DUI Specialist
Your World-Class California DUI Lawyer | more info | | | | Case Results
A Lawyer thatworks for you | more info | | | | :: iTEMS OF INTEREST ::
Five Convicted in Leasing Scam Involving $46 Million
August 16, 2004 -Monitor Daily
A federal jury convicted five men accused of bilking $46 million out of investors who bankrolled commercial equipment leases for a promise of high returns with little risk.
More than 1,600 investors were told that Alliance Leasing would use 90 percent of their money to purchase equipment and then lease it to small businesses. Investors expected a return of 28 percent to 32 percent. Independent insurance agents sold the investments and were promised 30 percent commission. Officials say many agents didn't know the details of the investments they were selling.
Convicted of conspiracy and mail fraud were: Charles Edward Browne of San Diego, John Walter Lang of Alabama, and Laurence Crowell Leafer, David Lee Halsey and Braccus Lucien Giavanno, all of Florida. They were acquitted of money laundering charges.
Browne and his wife owned Alliance Leasing. His wife, Susan, is to go to trial on similar charges next year.
Each of the 21 mail fraud charges carries a possible 20-year prison sentence, but it was unclear how much time the defendants will face at sentencing, he said.
A sentence hearing was not scheduled because a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has muddled federal sentencing guidelines.
In Blakey v. Washington, the court said juries, not judges, should decide some of the factual questions that are part of sentencing considerations.
Investors eventually got back about 75 percent of their investments through lawsuits and bankruptcy proceedings. Many insurance agents lost their license to sell securities.
| |
