Information for Victims in Large Cases
| Case Name | Familiar Names and Terms | District or Division | Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Christian Meissenn, et al. | Christian Meissenn, William Lieberman, Corey Brinson, Damian Delgado, Michael Neumann | USAO - Connecticut |
Christian Meissenn, William Lieberman, Damian Delgado (also known as Michael Neumann), and others ran a securities fraud “pump and dump” scheme. The defendants fraudulently induced investors to purchase stocks issued by shell companies under the control of Lieberman and other co-conspirators. The effect was to artificially boost the trading volume of the securities, create the appearance of liquidity, and falsely drive up the share price. The defendants and their co-conspirators then sold their own shares at a profit before allowing the price of the securities to fall, leaving investors with worthless and unsalable stock. As a result, victim investors lost millions of dollars. The defendants laundered their profits through the trust accounts of various attorneys, including Corey Brinson. The issuing companies involved in the scheme included Terra Energy Resources Ltd. (stock symbol “TRRE”); Mammoth Energy Group, Inc. (stock symbol “MMTE”), a company that later became Strategic Asset Leasing Inc. (stock symbol “LEAS”); Trilliant Exploration Corporation (stock symbol “TTXP”); Hermes Jets, Inc. (stock symbol “HRMJ”), which later became Continental Beverage Brands Corporation (stock symbol “CBBB”); Dolat Ventures, Inc. (stock symbol “DOLV”), and Fox Petroleum, Inc. (stock symbol “FXPT”). Meissenn, Lieberman, and Delgado have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and tax evasion charges. They await sentencing. Brinson has pleaded guilty to money laundering, and has been sentenced to 3 years in prison. |
| U.S. v. Moustafa Moataz Aboshady | Moustafa Moataz Aboshady; New England Wellness & Pain Management, P.C., also known as New England Pain Associates, Greystone Pain Management, Inc., and New England Pain Institute, or NEPA. | USAO - Massachusetts |
Moustafa Moataz Aboshady, 33, an Egyptian national residing in Lake Forest, Calif., was indicted in September 2016, in U.S. District Court in Boston, on one count of conspiracy and two counts of making false statements in connection with health care benefit programs. As alleged in the indictment, Aboshady was a medical resident in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, employed at New England Wellness & Pain Management, P.C., which was also known as New England Pain Associates, P.C., Greystone Pain Management, Inc., and New England Pain Institute, P.C., or NEPA. NEPA had locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The indictment alleges that Aboshady was part of a conspiracy involving other members of NEPA, including its owner and members of a satellite office in Cairo, Egypt, in connection with a scheme to falsify patient medical records in order to obtain payments from the Medicare program and commercial health insurance companies. The alleged conduct included submitting claims for payment to Medicare and commercial health insurance companies for services not rendered. |
| U.S. v. Fathallah Mashali | Dr. Fathallah Mashali; New England Wellness & Pain Management, P.C., a/k/a New England Pain Associates, of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a/k/a Greystone Pain Management, Inc., a/k/a New England Pain Institute, P.C. (NEPA) | USAO - Massachusetts |
Fathallah Mashali, 62, of Dover, Mass., pleaded guilty on March 15, 2017 in U.S. District Court in Boston to 27 counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and 16 counts of money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21, 2017. Mashali was a licensed physician in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Mashali operated New England Wellness & Pain Management, P.C., a/k/a New England Pain Associates, P.C., of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a/k/a Greystone Pain Management, Inc., a/k/a New England Pain Institute, P.C. (NEPA). He also employed Egyptian doctors in Cairo, Egypt, who entered false information into U.S. patients’ medical records. Many of the patients at NEPA were Medicare beneficiaries. |
| U.S. v. Kemp & Associates, Inc. and Daniel J. Mannix | Kemp & Associates, Dan Mannix, heir location services, estate, descendent, probate | Antitrust Division |
Kemp & Associates, Inc. and Daniel J. Mannix were charged with engaging in a conspiracy to allocate customers of heir location services sold in the United States beginning as early as September 1999 and continuing as late as January 29, 2014 , which resulted in sales of heir location services at collusive and noncompetitive contingency fee rates. |
| US v. Brandon Riggs/ 16-CR-419 (2016R00571) | Midway Industries, LLC, Johnson Distributing, Champion Industries, Commercial Industries, Commercial Industries of Delray Beach, Commercial Industries of Palm Beach, Environmental Industries, Essex Industries, Hansen Supply, Mid-Atlantic Industries, Midway Management, Midway Industries of Delray Beach, National, National of Delray Beach, Pacific Supply, Standard Industries, State Power and Electric, and State Power and Lighting | USAO - Maryland |
A federal grand jury has indicted Brian Keith Wallen, age 52, of Lutherville, Maryland, and Andrew Stafford, age 56, of Bel Air, Maryland with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud arising from a nationwide fraudulent telemarketing scheme designed to ship unwanted and vastly over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies to thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations. The indictment was filed on June 30, 2016 and unsealed upon the arrest of Andrew Stafford. Brian Keith Wallen was reported missing on April 28, 2016, and is still being sought by law enforcement. Specifically, the indictment alleges that from about 2007 to 2014, Wallen, Stafford and other conspirators telephoned authorized representatives of businesses, who were often maintenance employees, on behalf of Midway companies. During these phone calls, the conspirators sought to conceal Midway’s true locations in Reisterstown, Maryland and in Florida. According to the indictment, during the initial calls, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators promised national store gift cards to the authorized representatives to induce them to place initial orders, or to provide Midway with additional company information or personal information, like the authorized representatives’ home address and personal phone number. The conspirators used the cell phone numbers and/or birthdays of the authorized representatives as “purchase order” numbers in order to lend legitimacy to later collections efforts.In addition, during the calls the conspirators allegedly made false statements, including: that the victim businesses had an existing business relationship with Midway; and that Midway would send a “half box” of light bulbs. In fact, the “half box” was a deceptive technique used to understate the volume and price of shipments, and disguise unwanted future shipments. Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators allegedly did not divulge the price of any products, engaging in a practice called the “price blow-off,” falsely telling the victim business that they did not have the price in front of them, but that it would be at the corporate discount. In fact, Midway did not offer a corporate discount.The indictment alleges that as a result of the fraud scheme, Midway sent fraudulent invoices to victim companies for more than $100 million and received more than $50 million in payments on those invoices. |
| US v. Thomas Wishon/ 16-CR-339 (2016R00457) | Midway Industries, LLC, Johnson Distributing, Champion Industries, Commercial Industries, Commercial Industries of Delray Beach, Commercial Industries of Palm Beach, Environmental Industries, Essex Industries, Hansen Supply, Mid-Atlantic Industries, Midway Management, Midway Industries of Delray Beach, National, National of Delray Beach, Pacific Supply, Standard Industries, State Power and Electric, and State Power and Lighting | USAO - Maryland |
A federal grand jury has indicted Brian Keith Wallen, age 52, of Lutherville, Maryland, and Andrew Stafford, age 56, of Bel Air, Maryland with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud arising from a nationwide fraudulent telemarketing scheme designed to ship unwanted and vastly over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies to thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations. The indictment was filed on June 30, 2016 and unsealed upon the arrest of Andrew Stafford. Brian Keith Wallen was reported missing on April 28, 2016, and is still being sought by law enforcement. Specifically, the indictment alleges that from about 2007 to 2014, Wallen, Stafford and other conspirators telephoned authorized representatives of businesses, who were often maintenance employees, on behalf of Midway companies. During these phone calls, the conspirators sought to conceal Midway’s true locations in Reisterstown, Maryland and in Florida. According to the indictment, during the initial calls, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators promised national store gift cards to the authorized representatives to induce them to place initial orders, or to provide Midway with additional company information or personal information, like the authorized representatives’ home address and personal phone number. The conspirators used the cell phone numbers and/or birthdays of the authorized representatives as “purchase order” numbers in order to lend legitimacy to later collections efforts.In addition, during the calls the conspirators allegedly made false statements, including: that the victim businesses had an existing business relationship with Midway; and that Midway would send a “half box” of light bulbs. In fact, the “half box” was a deceptive technique used to understate the volume and price of shipments, and disguise unwanted future shipments. Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators allegedly did not divulge the price of any products, engaging in a practice called the “price blow-off,” falsely telling the victim business that they did not have the price in front of them, but that it would be at the corporate discount. In fact, Midway did not offer a corporate discount.The indictment alleges that as a result of the fraud scheme, Midway sent fraudulent invoices to victim companies for more than $100 million and received more than $50 million in payments on those invoices. |
| US v. Robert Chesser/ 16-CR-337 (2016R00444) | Midway Industries, LLC, Johnson Distributing, Champion Industries, Commercial Industries, Commercial Industries of Delray Beach, Commercial Industries of Palm Beach, Environmental Industries, Essex Industries, Hansen Supply, Mid-Atlantic Industries, Midway Management, Midway Industries of Delray Beach, National, National of Delray Beach, Pacific Supply, Standard Industries, State Power and Electric, and State Power and Lighting | USAO - Maryland |
A federal grand jury has indicted Brian Keith Wallen, age 52, of Lutherville, Maryland, and Andrew Stafford, age 56, of Bel Air, Maryland with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud arising from a nationwide fraudulent telemarketing scheme designed to ship unwanted and vastly over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies to thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations. The indictment was filed on June 30, 2016 and unsealed upon the arrest of Andrew Stafford. Brian Keith Wallen was reported missing on April 28, 2016, and is still being sought by law enforcement. Specifically, the indictment alleges that from about 2007 to 2014, Wallen, Stafford and other conspirators telephoned authorized representatives of businesses, who were often maintenance employees, on behalf of Midway companies. During these phone calls, the conspirators sought to conceal Midway’s true locations in Reisterstown, Maryland and in Florida. According to the indictment, during the initial calls, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators promised national store gift cards to the authorized representatives to induce them to place initial orders, or to provide Midway with additional company information or personal information, like the authorized representatives’ home address and personal phone number. The conspirators used the cell phone numbers and/or birthdays of the authorized representatives as “purchase order” numbers in order to lend legitimacy to later collections efforts.In addition, during the calls the conspirators allegedly made false statements, including: that the victim businesses had an existing business relationship with Midway; and that Midway would send a “half box” of light bulbs. In fact, the “half box” was a deceptive technique used to understate the volume and price of shipments, and disguise unwanted future shipments. Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators allegedly did not divulge the price of any products, engaging in a practice called the “price blow-off,” falsely telling the victim business that they did not have the price in front of them, but that it would be at the corporate discount. In fact, Midway did not offer a corporate discount.The indictment alleges that as a result of the fraud scheme, Midway sent fraudulent invoices to victim companies for more than $100 million and received more than $50 million in payments on those invoices. |
| US v. Brandon Johnston/ 16-CR-209 ( 2016R00312) | Midway Industries, LLC, Johnson Distributing, Champion Industries, Commercial Industries, Commercial Industries of Delray Beach, Commercial Industries of Palm Beach, Environmental Industries, Essex Industries, Hansen Supply, Mid-Atlantic Industries, Midway Management, Midway Industries of Delray Beach, National, National of Delray Beach, Pacific Supply, Standard Industries, State Power and Electric, and State Power and Lighting | USAO - Maryland |
A federal grand jury has indicted Brian Keith Wallen, age 52, of Lutherville, Maryland, and Andrew Stafford, age 56, of Bel Air, Maryland with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud arising from a nationwide fraudulent telemarketing scheme designed to ship unwanted and vastly over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies to thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations. The indictment was filed on June 30, 2016 and unsealed upon the arrest of Andrew Stafford. Brian Keith Wallen was reported missing on April 28, 2016, and is still being sought by law enforcement. Specifically, the indictment alleges that from about 2007 to 2014, Wallen, Stafford and other conspirators telephoned authorized representatives of businesses, who were often maintenance employees, on behalf of Midway companies. During these phone calls, the conspirators sought to conceal Midway’s true locations in Reisterstown, Maryland and in Florida. According to the indictment, during the initial calls, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators promised national store gift cards to the authorized representatives to induce them to place initial orders, or to provide Midway with additional company information or personal information, like the authorized representatives’ home address and personal phone number. The conspirators used the cell phone numbers and/or birthdays of the authorized representatives as “purchase order” numbers in order to lend legitimacy to later collections efforts.In addition, during the calls the conspirators allegedly made false statements, including: that the victim businesses had an existing business relationship with Midway; and that Midway would send a “half box” of light bulbs. In fact, the “half box” was a deceptive technique used to understate the volume and price of shipments, and disguise unwanted future shipments. Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators allegedly did not divulge the price of any products, engaging in a practice called the “price blow-off,” falsely telling the victim business that they did not have the price in front of them, but that it would be at the corporate discount. In fact, Midway did not offer a corporate discount.The indictment alleges that as a result of the fraud scheme, Midway sent fraudulent invoices to victim companies for more than $100 million and received more than $50 million in payments on those invoices. |
| US v. Steven Phillips/ 16-CR-133 (2016R00154) | Midway Industries, LLC, Johnson Distributing, Champion Industries, Commercial Industries, Commercial Industries of Delray Beach, Commercial Industries of Palm Beach, Environmental Industries, Essex Industries, Hansen Supply, Mid-Atlantic Industries, Midway Management, Midway Industries of Delray Beach, National, National of Delray Beach, Pacific Supply, Standard Industries, State Power and Electric, and State Power and Lighting | USAO - Maryland |
A federal grand jury has indicted Brian Keith Wallen, age 52, of Lutherville, Maryland, and Andrew Stafford, age 56, of Bel Air, Maryland with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud arising from a nationwide fraudulent telemarketing scheme designed to ship unwanted and vastly over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies to thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations. The indictment was filed on June 30, 2016 and unsealed upon the arrest of Andrew Stafford. Brian Keith Wallen was reported missing on April 28, 2016, and is still being sought by law enforcement. Specifically, the indictment alleges that from about 2007 to 2014, Wallen, Stafford and other conspirators telephoned authorized representatives of businesses, who were often maintenance employees, on behalf of Midway companies. During these phone calls, the conspirators sought to conceal Midway’s true locations in Reisterstown, Maryland and in Florida. According to the indictment, during the initial calls, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators promised national store gift cards to the authorized representatives to induce them to place initial orders, or to provide Midway with additional company information or personal information, like the authorized representatives’ home address and personal phone number. The conspirators used the cell phone numbers and/or birthdays of the authorized representatives as “purchase order” numbers in order to lend legitimacy to later collections efforts.In addition, during the calls the conspirators allegedly made false statements, including: that the victim businesses had an existing business relationship with Midway; and that Midway would send a “half box” of light bulbs. In fact, the “half box” was a deceptive technique used to understate the volume and price of shipments, and disguise unwanted future shipments. Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators allegedly did not divulge the price of any products, engaging in a practice called the “price blow-off,” falsely telling the victim business that they did not have the price in front of them, but that it would be at the corporate discount. In fact, Midway did not offer a corporate discount.The indictment alleges that as a result of the fraud scheme, Midway sent fraudulent invoices to victim companies for more than $100 million and received more than $50 million in payments on those invoices. |
| US v. Alan Landsman/ 15-CR-661 (2015R00798) | Midway Industries, LLC, Johnson Distributing, Champion Industries, Commercial Industries, Commercial Industries of Delray Beach, Commercial Industries of Palm Beach, Environmental Industries, Essex Industries, Hansen Supply, Mid-Atlantic Industries, Midway Management, Midway Industries of Delray Beach, National, National of Delray Beach, Pacific Supply, Standard Industries, State Power and Electric, and State Power and Lighting | USAO - Maryland |
A federal grand jury has indicted Brian Keith Wallen, age 52, of Lutherville, Maryland, and Andrew Stafford, age 56, of Bel Air, Maryland with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud arising from a nationwide fraudulent telemarketing scheme designed to ship unwanted and vastly over-priced light bulbs and cleaning supplies to thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations. The indictment was filed on June 30, 2016 and unsealed upon the arrest of Andrew Stafford. Brian Keith Wallen was reported missing on April 28, 2016, and is still being sought by law enforcement. Specifically, the indictment alleges that from about 2007 to 2014, Wallen, Stafford and other conspirators telephoned authorized representatives of businesses, who were often maintenance employees, on behalf of Midway companies. During these phone calls, the conspirators sought to conceal Midway’s true locations in Reisterstown, Maryland and in Florida. According to the indictment, during the initial calls, Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators promised national store gift cards to the authorized representatives to induce them to place initial orders, or to provide Midway with additional company information or personal information, like the authorized representatives’ home address and personal phone number. The conspirators used the cell phone numbers and/or birthdays of the authorized representatives as “purchase order” numbers in order to lend legitimacy to later collections efforts.In addition, during the calls the conspirators allegedly made false statements, including: that the victim businesses had an existing business relationship with Midway; and that Midway would send a “half box” of light bulbs. In fact, the “half box” was a deceptive technique used to understate the volume and price of shipments, and disguise unwanted future shipments. Wallen, Stafford, and the conspirators allegedly did not divulge the price of any products, engaging in a practice called the “price blow-off,” falsely telling the victim business that they did not have the price in front of them, but that it would be at the corporate discount. In fact, Midway did not offer a corporate discount.The indictment alleges that as a result of the fraud scheme, Midway sent fraudulent invoices to victim companies for more than $100 million and received more than $50 million in payments on those invoices. |