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NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY —
Spanier was also ordered to forfeit several million dollars in assets that were the proceeds of the fraud, including cash and securities held in brokerage accounts, and a luxury home in
Following an appeal in a prior criminal case, Spanier was re-indicted in
Spanier’s re-trial was held in
According to trial testimony, Spanier, through his entity Amerifund Capital Finance, partnered with McClain, Miceli, and
The evidence presented at trial showed that Argyll, the purported lender, had no cash to lend and instead survived for years by immediately selling borrowers stock on the day after the stock was pledged as collateral. The proceeds from the sale of the stock were used to fund the loans creating the appearance that Argyll had plenty of cash to lend.
The evidence also showed that Spanier, McClain, and others fraudulently induced the borrowers to make monthly interest payments on their loans by falsely representing that their collateral was safe and would be returned as long as they did not default. At the end of the loan terms, the borrowers paid off their loans. Instead of returning the stock to the borrowers, Spanier and McClain kept the money and provided false excuses about why they could not return their stock.
The evidence further showed that the unauthorized sales of stock held by insiders of publicly traded companies caused the stock price to plummet which defrauded purchasers of these publicly traded securities who purchased stock through public stock exchanges.
During the trial, the government offered testimony from several executives, many of whom had faithfully paid off their loans over a period of years, completely unaware that their stocks had been sold. All testified about the frustration, emotional stress and grief they experienced when they unsuccessfully attempted to recover their stock once the loan balance was paid, and ultimately realized they were the victims of a massive fraud. Victims were located in
The jury rejected defense claims that Spanier was merely a broker who was unaware of the fraud scheme.
“Today’s significant prison sentence sends a loud and clear message to those engaged in such brazen deception for personal gain that we are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to vigorously pursue and prosecute anyone who commits white-collar crimes,” said Acting
“Today’s sentencing of
At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, the Court ordered that Spanier be remanded into custody immediately.
DEFENDANT Criminal Case No. 16CR1545-BEN
SUMMARY OF CHARGES:
Count 1 of the Superseding Indictment — Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. S. 371)
Maximum Penalties: 5 years in prison and
Count 2 of the Superseding Indictment — Securities Fraud (15 U.S.C. S.S. 78j(b) and 78ff)
Maximum Penalties: 20 years in prison and
Counts 2-7 of the Indictment — Mail Fraud (18 U.S.C. S. 1341)
Maximum Penalties: 20 years in prison and
Counts 8-13, 15 and 16 of the Indictment — Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. S. 1343)
Maximum Penalties: 20 years in prison and
Criminal Forfeiture (real and personal property)
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