VIRGINIA
A federal jury found two representatives of a purported investment company based in the United Kingdom guilty on Oct. 30 for their roles in an investment fraud scheme by which they stole at least $5 million from victim investors, officials announced Tuesday.
After a four-day trial, James Michael Johnson, 69, of Richmond, Virginia, and James Leonard Smith, 64, of Midlothian, Virginia, were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
The defendants stole at least $5 million from their victims.
The victims include an unidentified, nonprofit volunteer firefighting company on Virginia’s Eastern Shore that engaged Johnson as a financial adviser and invested $100,000, according to court documents.
Although the company got $10,000 back in what were said to be interest payments, the $100,000 principal was never returned.
Brian Michael Bridge, 46, of London, England, a fugitive, was also charged in the superseding indictment.
Sentencing for Johnson and Bridge is scheduled for March 5. Co-conspirator Stuart Anderson, who pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13.
According to evidence presented at trial, Johnson and Smith participated in a worldwide scheme through Chimera Group Ltd.
The scheme operated as an advance fee scheme that involved the defendants as promoters. They promised to pay the victims a sum of money at a later date in exchange for an upfront advanced payment, authorities stated.
Among other misrepresentations, Johnson and Smith and their co-conspirators told potential victims that their principal payments would be protected based on letters of credit and other documents that purported to be from a large financial institution.
However, these letters were fabricated.
The evidence also showed that the defendants used escrow attorneys, who were themselves part of the scheme, in order to give the victims the appearance that their money would remain secure until the defendants’ promises had been kept, according to federal officials.