Consultant Charged in Theft of $3.6 Million From Department of Education

former consultant hired to manage a large-scale project aimed at bringing Internet access to all New York City public schools was charged Thursday with stealing $3.6 million from the Department of Education, authorities said.The charges marked the second time in less than a year that federal prosecutors accused consultants hired by the city of multimillion dollar thefts in connection with a high-profile technology initiative.In December 2010, six people were charged for allegedly defrauding the city of $80 million allocated to a long-delayed computerized...

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Fraud office looks at scamming of Sven-Goran Eriksson

The Serious Fraud Office is examining a con that took in Sven-Goran Eriksson and the North Korean government, BBC Panorama has learned.Investigators are also looking at how the same conman stole a football club and broke a bank.Convicted fraudster Russell King persuaded the former England manager to join Notts County FC as director of football and to visit North Korea.Mr King denies any fraud and said he was just a consultant on the deals.Mr Eriksson was appointed at Notts County in 2009 following a takeover that promised to bring millions of pounds...

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Con artists netted big-time financiers

woman with a previous fraud conviction, an elderly former shoe shop manager and a female accomplice who rose no higher than a private in the army conned "savvy professional investors" Mark Hotchin and Kerry Finnigan in a $15 million Rotorua-based Ponzi scam.Mr Hotchin and Mr Finnigan together invested $680,000 of their personal money. They did so without doing their homework, handing over large sums despite commenting that there was "bugger all information" about the schemes.Margarite Huia Papple, known as Lee, 56, and Tina West, 51, were jailed...

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Former Arcade Building owner gets 13 years for fraud

Steven Byers, the former president and CEO of the company that once owned the historic Arcade Building in downtown Riverside, was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison on Monday for his part in a securities fraud scheme that bilked investors out of millions.Judge Denny Chin sentenced Byers, the former head of Wextrust Capital LLC, to 160 months in prison at a hearing held April 11 in New York City. Byers in April 2010 pleaded guilty to two felony counts of securities fraud."Steven Byers used smoke and mirrors to defraud his investors...

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Israel's attorney general moved Wednesday to possibly indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on fraud and other corruption charges,

Israel's attorney general moved Wednesday to possibly indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on fraud and other corruption charges, capping a decade-old investigation into the leader of the hawkish Yisrael Beiteinu party.The announcement of the top justice official's intention to indict raised questions about the political future of Lieberman, who many suspect was preparing to challenge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the next election.The case also could destabilize Netanyahu's government; Lieberman has the power to bring down...

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FrontPoint portfolio manager charged with securities fraud

Joseph F. “Chip” Skowron, FrontPoint Partners portfolio manager, was charged with conspiracy and securities fraud as part of a U.S. crackdown on so-called expert networks.Mr. Skowron surrendered on Wednesday to FBI agents at their New York office, said James Margolin, an FBI spokesman. He also was charged with insider trading by the SEC, according to a news release from the commission.Information Mr. Skowron obtained from an insider about hepatitis C drug trials enabled him to avoid more than $30 million in losses in the six now-closed FrontPoint...

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