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New York, NY - New Charges in Ponzi Fraud Targeting Ex-WexTrust Execs |
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New York, NY - New criminal charges have been filed against two former WexTrust Capital LLC executives accused of running a $255 million Ponzi scheme that targeted Orthodox Jews.
The case surfaced last August when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused the executives, Steven Byers and Joseph Shereshevsky, of conducting at least 60 private placements and creating 150 entities purportedly to fund commercial real estate ventures, when in fact they were diverting money to themselves or to pay off prior investors.
In a superseding indictment made public on Friday, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York accused Byers and Shereshevsky of three counts of securities fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. Prosecutors seek the return of the $255 million.
An earlier indictment, filed last November, accused the men of one count each of securities fraud and conspiracy, and sought the return of just $9.2 million.
In a Ponzi scheme, money from new investors is used to pay off old ones. The old con game gained new notoriety following the December arrest of financier Bernard Madoff, who later pleaded guilty to running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme and is now serving a 150-year prison sentence.
Last week, in the SEC case against WexTrust, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin approved a receiver's plan to liquidate the Chicago firm's assets and distribute proceeds to victims.
Chin is the judge who sentenced Madoff.
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Read Comments (8) — Post Yours »
1
Jul 31, 2009 at 03:56 PM Anonymous Says:
And now we blame them for thinking that were trying to take over the world . Huge chillul hashem once again . Hashem I'm personally sorry for all this I hope you could forgive us
2
Jul 31, 2009 at 05:36 PM merkin Says:
In my humble opinion, we need to change our attitudes towards the secular world before we really overstay our welcome in the USA. As long as we don't give the highest respect to the laws of this land which is a land of chesed toward the Jewish people, then we have only ourselves to blame if anti semitism grows against us. We can not afford, as a people, to have so many crooks stealing from people. Rabbosai, we all know the truth. In the yeshivos they have to change the derech and teach respect for the USA and its institutions and the absolute requirement for honesty and personal integrity in our dealings with the non-Jewish world and ourselves. We all know of cases of "frum" Jews stealing from other Jews, whether it is money, or business ideas. It is time for a change.
3
Jul 31, 2009 at 06:52 PM Anonymous Says:
i'd like to add .. you all are blaming the Yeshives the chinech we must change etc. well all those real BIG ganuvim's names does'nt sound YASHIVISHE names i.e. madof , byer, milken etc. in which yeshive did they go.... not chasidishe not litvishe etc. stop bashing YIDISHE YIDEN those with out chinech are mush worst please stop teaching us
4
Aug 01, 2009 at 09:01 PM Anonymous Says:
Actually the Rabbis in the NJ scandal were Yidishe, Shereshevsky (WexTrust) is Yidishe, so were the guys steeling checks from the mail, and so was the couple cheating welfare, if you ask me something has to change in the Chinuch....People expect if from goyim and people who are not frum...but when a frum yid with a Yalmulka gets in trouble it is a huge chilul Hashem.
5
Aug 01, 2009 at 08:45 PM Anonymous Says:
And these two guys should go to jail. I have persoanl knowledge of these two and they are a bunch of ganavim and should rot in jail.
They knew exactly what they were doing and collecting money at the golf course three summers ago and ripping off everyone in their sights is a shandeh. And the few boro park people that helped them swindle money from frum heimishe people, they too should go to prison.
Enough is enough. You do the drime then do the time.
6
Aug 01, 2009 at 09:10 PM Anonymous Says:
yes we must start theching things in yeshiva
but every time the rebbe tries to say something the parents are up in arms?
7
Aug 01, 2009 at 08:12 PM Anonymous Says:
“ i'd like to add .. you all are blaming the Yeshives the chinech we must change etc. well all those real BIG ganuvim's names does'nt sound YASHIVISHE names i.e. madof , byer, milken etc. in which yeshive did they go.... not chasidishe not litvishe etc. stop bashing YIDISHE YIDEN those with out chinech are mush worst please stop teaching us ”
Of course there are non-frum criminals. That is not the issue. The issue is why are we seeing so much frum crime lately? The question is why. Did the earlier generation which mostly worked have such crimes in such amounts? NO! and they would be ashamed. Even ashamed to go on programs as a way of life. Their chinuch taught them to take responsibility and to be honest. We need those lessons again.
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Aug 01, 2009 at 09:39 PM EX-trust Says:
yossi sherishevsky should rot in jail for the rest of his life