DEL RIO, Texas — DEL RIO, Texas (AP) - A federal judge in South Texas has sentenced three men to prison and ordered repayment of more than $4.2 million in an investment scam targeting nonprofit groups.
Prosecutors on Friday announced the penalties in the scheme operating from 2010 to 2017 in which nonprofits were promised large-scale financing in exchange for upfront payments.
[Waxhaw man faces federal charges in $5M scheme, officials say]
Records show 51-year-old Kelly Ray Coronado of Del Rio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced Wednesday to 51 months in prison. Co-defendant 59-year-old James Edward Cox of Waxhaw, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to the same count and must serve 6½ years in prison.
A third man, 55-year-old Gordon Richard Moskowitz of Sarasota, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.
The indictment alleges that from January 2010 to January 2017, the defendants implemented the scheme to get money from multiple victims under false pretenses, promises and representations.
The indictment further alleges that the defendants preyed on vulnerable parties – most of whom operated international nonprofits by promising them large-scale financing in exchange for upfront payments.
The accused used fake business entities, websites and aliases, officials said.
The defendants would put upfront payments and then work together to frustrate law enforcement detection and victim redress, officials said.
The defendants could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The indictment also seeks the criminal forfeiture of Cox's and Coronado’s residences allegedly used in the scheme.
Neighbors have been complaining about this house for years and town leaders recently took them to court.
That civil case is pending, though there is no confirmation Friday’s FBI bust has anything to do with that case.