Florida Man Sentenced for $50 Million Internet Fraud Scheme in New Jersey - RLS Media

New Jersey

A Florida antheral was sentenced to 45 months successful situation for laundering funds obtained from a $50 cardinal internet-enabled fraud scheme, national officials announced today.

According to national officials, Denis Sotnikov, 39, of Hallandale Beach, Florida, antecedently pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering.

According to the documents filed successful this lawsuit and statements made successful court:

From 2012 to October 2020, Allen Giltman, 56, of Irvine, California, and others engaged successful an internet-based fiscal fraud scheme, which mostly progressive the instauration of fraudulent websites to solicit funds from investors.

Officials say, astatine times, the fraudulent websites were designed to lucifer those operated by actual, well-known and publically reputable fiscal institutions; astatine different times, the fraudulent websites were designed to lucifer seemingly morganatic fiscal institutions that did not exist.

Victims of the fraud strategy typically discovered fraudulent websites via net searches.

According to officials, the fraudulent websites advertised assorted concern opportunities, astir prominently the acquisition of certificates of deposit oregon CDs.

The fraudulent websites advertised higher-than-average rates of instrumentality connected the CDs to lure imaginable victims.

Federal officials say, Sotnikov received funds from astatine slightest 18 victims of the fraud scheme, totaling astir $6 million, successful accounts astatine assorted home banks that were controlled by him oregon by a adjacent relative.

Of this amount, astir $3.7 cardinal was frozen by the banks oregon returned to victims, and $707,380 was wired by Sotnikov overseas.

The remaining stolen funds – astir $1.5 cardinal – were transferred to galore different accounts controlled by Sotnikov, which were utilized to money idiosyncratic expenditures.

To date, instrumentality enforcement has identified astatine slightest 150 fraudulent websites created arsenic portion of the scheme.

Officials say, astatine slightest 70 victims of the fraud strategy nationwide, including successful New Jersey, collectively transmitted funds that they believed to beryllium investments successful the aggregate magnitude of astatine slightest astir $50 million.

Giltman pleaded blameworthy for his relation successful the fraud strategy connected Jan. 5, and is awaiting sentencing.

According to national officials, successful summation to the situation term, helium was sentenced Sotnikov to 3 years of supervised release.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) antecedently filed a civilian ailment against Sotnikov and respective companies associated with him based connected the aforesaid conduct.