Swindlers List - new additions

Swindler's List will be updated regularly!

Update:

Lior Orgad, David Yamin, Mor Galanti, Guy Mayo, Elad Mayo, Asi Almakias, and Yaniv Kalbers... All Israeli nationals, plead guilty to organizing a phony lottery/telemarketing scheme that targeted elderly Americans, telling them that they had won substantial cash prizes which they would receive as soon as they paid the necessary fees and taxes. Of course, there was no lottery prize and the victims were collectively robbed of approximately $2 million.

Avi Yanai... An Israeli citizen sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Moscow Military Court, for organizing an international network of sex traffickers. According to the court, from 1999 to 2007, when most of the network's agents were arrested, Yanai and his accomplices duped (mostly Slavic) women from the former USSR into believing they were getting well paid jobs in Europe and the Middle East, then sold hundreds of them into sex slavery in Israel, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. The official estimate stands at 129 women, but some of the states still investigating the network put the number at several hundred.

Dennis Glick... President of B’nai B’rith International, indicted on federal charges of tax fraud. Charged with falsifying tax returns for a client and lying about it to investigators.

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Stan Polley... One time manager of the Rock group Badfinger. Polley formed convoluted business structures then siphoned off money through them into his own pockets. Obtained much of Badfinger's money this way. The group ended up bankrupt and two of the founding members, Pete Ham and Tom Evans, killed themselves. Polley left show biz for good but soldiered on - in his pilfering and embezzling way - and in 1991 was ordered by a California court to repay $250,000 to an aeronautical entrepreneur he’d swindled; but according to the victim he never received any money.

Allen Klein... Manager for the Rolling Stones, Beatles and others. Dropped by The Rolling Stones for unethical behavior in the 1960s but surreptitiously bought rights to their early catalogue from Stones' producer Loog Oldham. Became manager of the Beatles after Brian Epstein died by flattering John Lennon and presenting himself as a street savvy accountant. However, Paul McCartney never trusted him and it's believed that his refusal to allow Klein full power to control the Beatle's business arrangments was the main reason the band broke up. Investigated by the IRS in the 1970s for embezzling money from George Harrison’s benefit show, The Concert for Bangladesh. Sued British indie rock group The Verve over their hit “Bittersweet Symphony.” The band had sampled orchestration from “The Last Time,” a recording by The Rolling Stones that Klein controlled. After winning the lawsuit, Klein licensed The Verve’s masterpiece to Nike for $$$millions. His last client - producer Phil Spector - is now serving a 19 to life sentence for the murder of a starlet.

Matthew Katz… Pronounced “Cates” – as with Phoebe. One time manager of Jefferson Airplane who was quickly and unceremoniously relieved of this duties and subsequently clogged the courts with 21 years worth of lawsuits. Managed the group Moby Grape and got title to their name - and thus their licensing rights. Screwed them out of millions. Ditto with the group Beautiful Day. Litigation with former BD founder David LaFlamme continues to the present.

Joshua David Gould... 31-year-old Orthodox Jew and securities broker. Charged with stealing approximately $4,000,000 USD from his (mostly) Orthodox Jewish clients. Sang to the authorities for a lessening of charges. "He was robbing Moishe to pay Saul" said his lawyer.

Roberto Heckscher... During the work week he presented himself as a mild mannered accountant and financial strategist - serving elderly and middle class clients. However, on week-ends he morphed into a Las Vegas “whale”, treated to the finest amenities by the casinos as he gambled away his client's investment money. Conned family, friends and acquaintances telling them they’d earn interest on short term loans to commercial clients. The scheme, which garnered up to $100 million USD, dated back to 1979 prosecutors said. Nearly 300 investors claimed to have lost at least $52 million USD. Tried unsuccessfully to kill himself in June 2009 by overdosing on sleeping pills.

Rabbi Menachem Youlus... "The Indiana Jones of Rabbis". Claimed to have "rescued" more than 1,000 holocaust-era Torah scrolls, some of which he said he'd dug up at sites of mass executions by the nazis. He also, "miraculously found" a Torah scroll hidden beneath the floorboards of a barracks at Bergen-Belsen. Sold his "finds" to unsuspecting Jews for $5,000 to $20,000 apiece. Eventually charged with wire fraud. As part of a plea agreement, Youlus will repay his victims $1.2 million. He is free on $100,000 bond until 21 June 2012, scheduled for sentencing.

Tuvia Stern... Scam artist and bail jumper who plead guilty to grand larceny after victims claimed he stole $1.7 million in various scams targeting Morgan Guaranty Trust and Bell Atlantic Leasing Systems. Fled to Brazil with his wife and five children to avoid jail. Arrested there and served 33 months on a separate insurance fraud charge. Tricked by the FBI - which promised him he would get his passport back and be allowed to travel anywhere except the US if he helped find fugitive Sholam Weiss. Was then arrested in the UK, after traveling there to visit his daughters, and extradited back to the US. Held a lavish, catered Bar Mitzvah, with a band and 60 guests, for his son while incarcerated at The Tombs.

Rabbi Levy Izhak Rosenbaum... Arrested with five other rabbis as part of a massive FBI sting (Operation BidRig) after being caught on tape offering to sell a kidney for $160,000. "I am what you call a matchmaker," Rosenbaum told an FBI informant trying to broker a deal. Witnesses described Rosenbaum, 58, as a “thug” who pulled a gun on one reluctant seller, telling him, “You’re here. A deal is a deal. Now, you’ll give us a kidney or you’ll never go home.” Federal prosecutors said the investigation initially focused on a money laundering network that operated between Brooklyn, N.Y.; Deal, N.J.; and Israel. The network is alleged to have laundered tens of millions of dollars through Jewish charities controlled by rabbis in New York and New Jersey. Arrested along with Rosenbaum were:
•Eliahu Ben Haim... a rabbi at a synagogue in Deal, N.J., charged with money laundering.
•Saul Kassin... the chief rabbi of a synagogue in Brooklyn, charged with money laundering.
•Edmund Nahum... the principal rabbi of a synagogue in Deal, charged with money laundering.
•Mordechai Fish... a rabbi at a synagogue in Brooklyn, charged with money laundering of proceeds derived from criminal activity.
•Albert Schwartz, brother of Rabbi Fish and also a rabbi, was charged as well.

Rabbi Yitzhok Fischer... Accused of giving a baby boy, who soon died, herpes during the meziza b'peh circumcision ritual. He is believed to have infected two other infants while serving as a mohel. Under the Orthodox practice followed by Fischer, he used his mouth to suck the blood from the infant’s penis after cutting off the foreskin.

Schlomo "Solomon" Dwek... Ran a real estate empire based on a Ponzi scheme. Swindled approx $50,000,000 USD from friends and acquaintances selling properties that sometimes didn't exist. Received a reduced sentence for becoming a government mole in "Operation BidRig" (see above) - the FBI investigation that busted the NJ rabbis' organ selling, money laundering scheme. Convicted of mortgage fraud, tax evasion, bribery and auction rigging.

Jay Korn... Long Island lawyer who duped acquaintances and even close friends into investing in phony real estate ventures. Jumped to his death from the roof of his office building rather than face charges when his $16-29,000,000 USD Ponzi scheme began collapsing.

Milton Balkany... Orthodox rabbi who tried to shake down a hedge fund company for $4,000,000 USD. Convicted of extortion, blackmail, making false statements and wire fraud. Balkany once lobbied the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to improve conditions for Orthodox Jewish prisoners. Sentenced to four years in a federal slammer in Miami

Eric Stein... Plead guilty to 73 criminal counts, including mail fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and tax evasion. Sentenced to eight years in prison. When investigators tallied the damages, almost 1,800 investors lost $34 million USD in his Ponzi scheme.

Joseph Shereshevsky... Former chief operating officer at WexTrust Capital. Convicted of securities fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy in a $238-255 million USD diamond and real estate Ponzi scheme that specialized in bilking Orthodox Jews. Currently awaiting sentencing.

Ezri Namvar... "Madoff West" One time LA real estate mogul accused of running a real estate ponzi scheme. Indicted for fraud related to the loss of as much as $868,000,000 USD. Namvar targeted Persian Jews (like himself) who now live in the LA area. Also accused of siphoning $23,000,000 USD from his companies for his personal use.

Tzvi Erez... Operated a print shop in Toronto. Erez would approach friends, acquaintances and others in the Toronto Jewish community for cash advances to help fund large scale printing orders that never existed, promising them a 30% return on their investment. Erez forged documents and created multiple dummy companies through which he created "business orders" and ran the proceeds of his scams through. Swindled approx. $27 million CD from 70 investors before being caught. Never prosecuted.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky... Russian "oligarch" who was once one of the world's richest men. However it was discovered that most of his $30 billion USD fortune was stolen. Embezzled approx. $20 billion USD from his own company, Yukos Oil, then laundered the proceeds. Convicted of tax evasion, money laundering and fraud. Sentenced to thirteen years in a Siberian prison.

Platon Lebedev... Former partner of Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Embezzled approx $2 billion USD from Yukos Oil.

Fred Shapiro... in the mid 90's Shapiro managed to defraud nearly every major financial institution in the City of Philadelphia of upwards of $40 million USD, using a variety of schemes, including setting up a phony title company and making falsified loan applications. He also embezzled money from pension funds and evaded taxes. Shapiro was sentenced to only 366 days in a North Carolina federal prison camp. In 2000, he committed credit card fraud and identity theft and as a result was sentenced to a further 18 months in prison. Now gives lectures on ethics and fraud prevention.

Eliyahu Ezagui... Scammed approx $18,000,000 USD from banks and (mostly Jewish) condominium buyers in a sub-prime mortgage fraud. Conned buyers into purchasing condos, then refused to hand over the deeds when construction was completed. Instead, Ezagui gave the deeds to his family members – including his wife, father and mother. When his business adventures collapsed, Ezagui's client's properties were foreclosed on. Sentenced to 33 months in prison.

Scott Rothstein... "The Jewish Avenger". Managing partner of the law firm Rothstein, Rosenfeldt & Adler in which he engaged in a variety of swindles. Swindled a family friend of an estimated $57,000,000; and others for perhaps as much as $1,000,000,000, by forging legal documents, selling "shares" in personal injury lawsuits and shaking down cheating husbands. Sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Nicholas Levene... Derivatives trader who swindled as much as £200 million from investors in the UK. Described as "a charming man who lived the dream", Levene told clients he had access to shares unavailable to ordinary investors, which he would buy and, a few hours later, sell at a ten percent profit. Set up bank accounts in half a dozen foreign countries under the names of various family members. As yet uncharged.

David Brooks... The former chief executive of the former DHB Industries Inc. who was charged with securities fraud, insider trading, tax evasion and other criminal offenses in a 21-count indictment filed in 2007. Accused of pocketing $190 million through his schemes. Manipulated the company's financial records to increase earnings and profit margins, thereby inflating stock prices, prosecutors said.

Sholom Rubashkin... Following an undercover animal cruelty investigation of his kosher slaughterhouse, Agriprocessors, by PETA, Federal prosecutors were contacted and a virtual Pandora's Box of malfeasance was discovered. Rubashkin was convicted of 86 counts of immigration violations, bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Received a 27 year prison sentence. Though presently incarcerated, his case is being appealed.

Rod Cameron Stringer... Ex car salesman, tow truck driver and bail bondsman who set up a ponzi scheme that targeted elderly investors, claiming annual returns of 61 percent. Stringer swindled between $7-45,000,000 USD and received a ten year sentence.

Barry Tannenbaum... South African CEO who persuaded people to invest in his companies — Frankel International and Frankel Chemicals — by offering returns of up to 216% per year. Accused of swindling some $1,200,000,000 USD from investors who took him up on it. Fled to Australia and now lives in Sydney.

Boris Berezovsky... Business tycoon found guilty in a Russian court of a $4,500,000 USD fraud - and for for the theft of millions of from Aeroflot. Fled to the UK and all requests for his extraditon have been met with a flat "nyet" by Her Majesty's government.

Sam Israel... Hedge fund guru who defrauded his investors out of approx. $450,000,000 USD. He faked his own suicide and went on the run for a month before finally turning himself in. Received 22 years in a federal prison.

Arthur Nadel... Hedge fund manager/ponzi schemer accused of swindling $300-350,000,000 USD from his investors. He left a phony suicide note, a la Sam Israel, but turned up alive and well, and lawyered up to his eyeballs, a few days later.

Bernard Madoff... Epic $60-65,000,000,000 USD swindled from investors in a self-described "ponzi scheme". Bernie took the fall for his family, plead guilty and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. His son, Mark Madoff, is said to have committed suicide as government investigators were closing in to indict him for his part in that fraud... and others.

Sonja Kohn... Bernie Madoff's female accomplice. This Orthodox Jewess operated an investment firm called "Bank Medici" and channeled $billions USD into Madoff's spurious accounts while pocketing hundreds of millions USD herself in commissions. She is being sued for $19,600,000,000 USD for her part in the scheme but claims she too was a victim of Madoff.

Marc Dreier... New York "lawyer to the stars" who embezzled approx. $380,000,000 USD from clients like Jay Leno and John Bon Jovi.

Lou Pearlman... One time manager of the Backstreet Boys. $300,000,000 USD swindled in a ponzi scheme.

Neal Sher... Holocaust lawyer and former OSI prosecutor of John Demjanjuk (who was mistakenly/falsely prosecuted as a former concentration camp guard, "Ivan the Terrible".) Embezzled an unstated amount from the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC)

Aron Bielski/Bell.. WW2 partisan whose life was the subject of books and movies. Tricked an elderly Polish woman, who'd herself been imprisoned by the nazis, into giving him power of attorney. Bielski/Bell then took her to Florida on the pretext of returning to Poland for a visit, put her in a nursing home, then returned to empty her bank account of $250,000 USD before police caught up with him.

Andy Fastow... Former CFO of Enron. Famed for his creative balance sheet "modifications" that showed Enron turning a good profit, when in fact it was racking up huge losses.

Marcus Schrenker... Swindled approximately $30,000,000 USD from investors. Faked his death in an airplane accident and tried to sneak away on a motorcycle with saddle bags full of cash. Led authorities on a three day, three state manhunt before finally being captured.

Eliyahu Weinstein... Weinstein, 35, an Orthodox Jew from Lakewood, New Jersey, is suspected of bilking investors in the US, UK, and Israel out of more than $300,000,000 through fake real estate deals. This usually involved selling the same property multiple times to different investors.

Bruce Friedman... Swindled an estimated $216,000,000 in a real estate investment fraud, raising money from hundreds of investors nationwide, many of whom are seniors, promising guaranteed high returns via real estate investments.

Paul Greenwood and Steve Walsh... $600-900,000,000 USD. The dastardly duo specialized in swindling colleges and universities. Greenwood and Walsh devastated employee retirement funds while buying themselves expensive mansions, horse ranches, rare books and collectible toys.

Jack Abramoff... Washington DC lobbyist, tax evader, embezzler. Best known for swindling a number of AmerIndian tribes out of an estimated $20-40,000,000 USD while supposedly assisting them to get Federal gaming licenses.

Gary Winnick... Global Crossings debacle mastermind. Used the company as his personal piggy bank; and his creative accounting skills to keep employees and investors in the dark even as he himself was cashing in his own Global Crossings stocks. As the company was going bankrupt he bought himself a $90,000,000 USD estate in Bel-Air.

Robert Maxwell (Jan Ludvik Hoch)... "The Bouncing Czech" British entrepreneur and embezzler. Tricked Mother Theresa into joining him in a phony charity photo op, then pocketed the proceeds. Used his companies as his own personal cookie jars, and when that wasn't enough to support his luxuries, embezzled hundreds of millions of British pounds from his employee's pension funds. Died under mysterious circumstances and was buried on the Mount of Olives.

Barry Minkow... Entrepreneur and ponzi scheme swindler who took his company and investors for an estimated $100-200,000,000 USD. Served seven and one half years in prison. Now a "born-again" Christian minister.

Marc Rich... Commodities trader who fled the US for Israel after being charged with tax evasion and making illegal oil deals with Iran during the hostage crisis of the late 1970's. Pardoned by Bill Clinton on his last day in office.

Pincus Green... Partner of Marc Rich, indicted for the same reasons, pardoned by Bill Clinton on his last day in office.

Michael Milken... The infamous "Junk Bond King" of the 1980's. Specializing in very high-risk securities, Milken and his many dupes (mostly savings and loans banks) ladened the US taxpayer with hundreds of $billions USD worth of debt to salvage the mess they left following the collapse of his financial house of cards.

Ivan Boesky... Inside trader. Fined $100,000,000 USD for his illegal arbitrageur activities.

David Solomon... Inside trader. Took a plea bargain and was fined $8,000,000 USD for insider trading. As part of the plea deal he agreed to testify against Michael Milken.

Martin Frankel... US financier convicted of insurance fraud, racketeering and money laundering. Swindled his customers out of an admitted $208,000,000 USD.

Sholam Weiss... Insurance consultant. Swindled customers of National Heritage Life Insurance comapny out of an undetermined amount ($25-$250,000,000 USD). Fled the country with much of the money. First went to Austria where officials, wary of being labeled "antisemitic" refused to extradite him. He was finally caught in Brazil and extradited back to the US, where he's currently serving the longest prison sentence ever handed down for a white collar crime.

Dennis Levine... Inside trader. Convicted of securities fraud, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and perjury, he was sentenced to two years in prison and fined.

The "New Square Four"... Chaim Berger, Kalmen Stern, David Goldstein, Jacob Elbaum. These crooks set up a phony, non-existant Yeshiva School in Brooklyn, NY then swindled the US Federal government out of approx. $32,000,000 USD for various grants, loans and subsidies.

Rudolf Vrba... Writer of "embellished" (his term) holocaust memoirs.

Herman Rosenblatt... Another author of a fictional "holocaust memoir".

Misha Defonseca... Wrote a fantastic holocaust "memoir". Claimed, among other things, that she lived with a pack of wolves; and killed with her bare hands a German soldier who was trying to rape her... when she was seven years old! Predictably this psychotic fantasy received rave reviews in the mainstream media and Defonseca pocketed about $15,000,000 USD before her fraud was finally exposed: "It's not the true reality, but it is my reality. There are times when I find it difficult to differentiate between reality and my inner world." she said. Although the book is clearly another holocaust hoax, Defonseca took it a step further by pretending she was Jewish. She is not, nor ever was, Jewish; but a good case could be made for making her an honorary Jew!

Citizenfitz