U.S. politician arrested over Facebook IPO scamMarch 20, 2013 - 15:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. Republican politician has been arrested and charged with using the Facebook IPO as a Ponzi scam, TG Daily reported. Craig Berkman, 71, told investors he had access to scarce pre-IPO shares of Facebook and other social media companies such as LinkedIn, Groupon and Zynga. According to an announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkman made "Ponzi-like" payments to earlier investors and funded personal expenses, including costs in a bankruptcy case. U.S. attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said that Berkman collected more than $8 million from various schemes by capitalising on the market obsession with Facebook's IPO. He used their gullibility like an ATM to fund his own living expenses and pay court-ordered claims to victims of his past misdeeds. Berkman was arrested at his home in Odessa, Florida, and appeared briefly before a federal magistrate in Tampa. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office charged Berkman with two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. In one scam more than 50 investors sent $4.6 million into a bank account controlled by a Berkman entity called Ventures Trust II. Berkman told investors the funds would be used to buy pre-IPO shares of Facebook, but instead the "vast majority" was transferred to other accounts Berkman controlled for his own personal benefit. According to Oregon Live, Berkman is a big name in Oregon politics and served for a time as the head of the state's Republican Party. He lost in the Republican primary for governor in 1994, and he explored a bid for governor in the 2002 race. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Exclusive access to all EURO 2024 games for Ucom subscribers This year once again Ucom stands as the primary partner of UEFA EURO 2024 in Armenia. Armenia, U.S. to upgrade Strategic Dialogue meeting to Strategic Partnership Commission The two governments have release a statement on the occasion of the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue Capstone meeting. Azerbaijan complains to Germany about Armenia's constitution Bayramov has complained about the Armenian constitution to his German counterpart Annalena Berbock. idcoin: New tool in IDBank’s loyalty system IDBank has announced the launch of idcoin, a new tool in the customer loyalty system. |