White collar crimes in Texas can involve large sums of money and lengthy prison sentences. Recently, two men from Texas were indicted in an alleged $1 million real estate investment scam.
Earlier this month, they were indicted in an operation that involved expensive cars, private jets, and religious deception, reported AP.
U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox announced the arrests of 23-year-old Joshua Pugh of Dallas and 50-year-old Johnny Glenn Clifton of Frisco.
The men were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. The Investigators allege they claimed ties to the illuminati. These are clandestine groups which claim their members are gifted with special intellectual or spiritual abilities. The indictment stated the victim is religious and did not believe fellow Christians were capable of deception.
Pugh and Clifton are accused of spending investment money on lavish cars and expensive travel. The indictments include a claim they paid someone $400 a month to put in and take out Pugh’s contact lenses.
Wire fraud charges are often brought in Texas. Earlier this month, a Texas CEO appeared before a federal judge in Houston for a bond hearing on allegations he participated in a $32 million securities and wire fraud scheme.
Ray Charles Davis, 62, executed a $50,000 secured bond along with an additional $200,000 unsecured bond reported the Houston Chronicle.
The businessman secured the bond after he agreed not to discuss business matters with two members of his family who are also employed at the company. The Chronicle reported they were identified as potential witnesses and possibly co-conspirators.
Davis is the former CEO of the technology company Behavioral Recognition Systems Inc. He faces a 21-count indictment handed down by a grand jury this month for allegedly embezzling money from the company, defrauding investors and leading them to buy shares based on incorrect and misleading statements.
What is Wire Fraud?
Wire fraud takes place when a party uses a communications device to intentionally defraud another’s property or any other item of value.
It is a federal offense to use interstate wires like a telephone, fax machine, television, radio or another device as part of an operation to defraud another person.
A federal prosecutor does not have to prove the accused knowingly used wires that crossed state lines for this to be a federal crime. If you defrauded other people in Texas from Dallas or Arlington, you could be charged with wire fraud if the e-mail server was housed outside the state.
White collar offenses often result in heavy prison sentences. A fraud of as little as $30,000 can land the perpetrator in prison.
If you have been charged with a crime of this nature, please contact our Dallas white collar crime defense lawyers.
