FLORIDA
The former chairman and CEO of a multinational pharmaceutical company was named in an indictment unsealed Friday in connection with a fraud scheme that caused over $100 million in losses.
It also led to the collapse and failure of Westernbank Puerto Rico, once one of Puerto Rico’s largest banks, according to officials.
Jack Kachkar, 53, of Key Biscayne, Florida, was charged with eight counts of wire fraud in an indictment filed on Aug. 4, 2016, in the Southern District of Florida.
Kachkar was arrested and made his initial appearance today.
According to the indictment, from 2005 to 2007, Kachkar served as chairman and CEO of Inyx Inc., which was publicly traded on the Nasdaq Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.
Beginning in early 2005, Kachkar and others allegedly caused Westernbank to enter into a series of agreements to provide loans and lines of credit to Inyx and its subsidiaries in exchange for a security interest in the assets of Inyx and its subsidiaries.
The indictment alleges that Kachkar caused false and fraudulent customer invoices to be submitted as collateral for loans from Westernbank; made false and fraudulent representations to Westernbank executives about purported imminent repayments of the Inyx loans and the value of assets he pledged as a guarantee for these loans; and misappropriated and embezzled the fraud proceeds for his personal use and benefit.
During the course of the scheme, Kachkar allegedly misappropriated approximately $25 million in fraudulent proceeds to his personal bank accounts and also misappropriated an additional $9.6 million in fraudulent proceeds to a bank account in the name of his associate.
Kachkar also allegedly used the proceeds from the scheme to pay for, among other things, multiple high-end real estate properties in Miami, luxury vehicles and a private jet.
The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.