deepal wannakuwatte

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Deepal Wannakuwatte, 63, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for a long-running fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller of the FBI's Sacramento Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas McMahon for the IRS-Criminal Modelled Employees (all sites): ? Although prosecutors have said Wannakuwatte lured investors and lenders into giving him around $150 million, Wagner pegged the actual net loss at around $100 million. Wannakuwatte told his victims he had $100 million worth of contracts to supply latex gloves to veterans hospitals, when in fact the contracts totaled just $25,000 a year. SACRAMENTO, Calif. Deepal Wannakuwatte, 63, of Sacramento, was charged today in a three-count indictment returned today with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley ordered Wannakuwatte to forfeit multiple properties, vehicles, business interests, and bank accounts to be used to provide restitution to victims. Deepal Wannakuwatte, owner of the Las Vegas Neon, was arrested February Deepal, you are a sociopath, he said. The Court is mindful that people with certain medical conditions, including hypertension, can be more vulnerable to COVID-19. His partner in the Capitals, a Fair Oaks man named Ramey Osborne, wound up loaning Wannakuwatte about $456,000, according to bankruptcy court records. The final chapter in the case came to a close on March 5, 2015, when the judge ordered that Wannakuwatte pay a total of $108,199,452.63 in restitution. From 2002 until his arrest in February 2014, Wannakuwatte defrauded between 150 and 200 individuals, companies, and government entities out of $230,000,000 through a classic Ponzi scheme. And while his victims suffered, Wannakuwatte purchased luxury homes, vehicles, airplanes, and even a professional tennis team. 1B1.13, cmt. The total losses to investor victims exceeds $100 million. Although Defendant claims to suffer from multiple, serious medical conditions, he fails to submit any medical documentation to confirm that he actually suffers from those conditions. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. After his arrest, the World TeamTennis league revoked his franchise and disbanded the team. Deepal took full advantage of him in any way he could, she wrote. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Beckwith and Kevin Khasigian are prosecuting the case. . The $50 billion in Ponzi schemes uncovered from 2008 to 2013 would rank in the top 75 countries in the world in terms of gross domestic product. Ponzi schemes have seemingly endless variations, which has led to this list of newsworthy Ponzi schemes, ranging from a emu-raising Ponzi scheme to astrology to latex gloves. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. . - Check with federal and state securities regulators to find out if there have been any complaints against the company or person youre thinking of doing business with. He said Wannakuwatte spent the money on personal and business expenses. A North Carolina company known as ZeekRewards, or Zeekler, solicited investors worldwide to participate in its penny-auction business where participants could bid on popular merchandise in 1-cent increments. . Experts said it would have been difficult for Wannakuwatte to withdraw his guilty plea, and his new lawyer, Cozens, announced to the court in September that his client was ready to be sentenced. You are a liar, a serial liar. Sacramento businessman Deepal Wannakuwatte indicted on bank fraud While the forfeitures will go toward restitution, the remainder of the roughly $105,000,000 will be paid back at a minimum rate of a mere $25.00 per quarter during the course of his incarceration. An official website of the United States government. From behind cars, Deepal Wannakuwatte tries to convince his own mother his sentencing isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. It isnt known how much the company is worth. 2023 InvestorPlace Media, LLC. According to court documents, from 2002 to 2014, Wannakuwatte convinced nearly 200 victims, including individuals, corporate entities, and financial institutions, to invest in a number of business opportunities by misrepresenting the financial worth of himself and his companies. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Donnie Wahlberg Pokes Fun At Brother In Wahlburgers Ads, 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC. Victims are expected to recover at least 50% of their losses. A former owner of the Sacramento Capitals professional tennis team, Wannakuwatte purchased properties in Hawaii, Oregon and California. And he did a have contract with the VA, but it was only for up to $25,000 a year. IMG's CEO, Deepal Wannakuwatte, told banks and investors that IMG had a $100-million contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs ("VA") to provide medical gloves at facilities around the countrysubject only to his ability to raise capital to purchase or import the gloves from Asia. US 9th Circuit Opinions and Cases | FindLaw - Be wary of an investment opportunity that offers unusually high yields. "It's imperative that people do background checks on any kind of person they are going to do business with," said David Schassler, a licensed private investigator in New . However, Defendant fails to persuade the Court that his hypertension qualifies as "extraordinary and compelling" reason for release within the context of 18 U.S.C. He has served approximately 76 months of his 240-month sentence of imprisonment and his projected release date is March 7, 2031. He used investors money to pay the overstated tax returns. As a whole, Defendant's arguments about COVID-19 are too general and wide-ranging. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal File) | Las Vegas Review-Journal. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The case against Deepal Wannakuwatte was already one for the books: a successful immigrant businessman, owner of a professional tennis team, admitting he had perpetrated one of the largest Ponzi. This equates to roughly $6.3 billion per year of investor wealth lost to Ponzi schemes or nearly the annual GDP of Africas Republic of Niger. Viking Financial Group (Viking) was owned and operated by Steven Palladino, his wife Lori Palladino, and his son, Greg Palladino. ), Generally, a court "may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed." If convicted, Wannakuwatte faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1million fine for each count. And after several months of reviewing more than 10 years worth of business records, analyzing tax and other financial documents, conducting interviews of employees and victims, serving search warrants, etc., law enforcement was able to piece together how the scam worked. He falsely claimed that his companies did tens of millions of dollars in business with federal agencies every year, most notably the Department of Veterans Affairs. This New York investment adviser rose to prominence through high-profile leadership positions in the financial industry, including a stint as non-executive chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Defendant made a request to the warden on April 23, 2020. (ECF No. In total, over two dozen investors invested at least $5 million. Kamir Abou Najm performed research work for the universitys Miller Lab, which studies early signs of autism and ADHD. He's now serving a 20-year sentence for fraud. Wannakuwatte used the money from investors to cover these losses and pad his own pockets. The Sentencing Commission's relevant policy statement on compassionate release identifies medical conditions that satisfy the "extraordinary and compelling" requirement. 3582(c)(1)(A). 501 I Street, Suite 10-100 3582(c)(1)(A) (requiring a consideration of the 3553(a) factors before granting compassionate release). Since 2008, at least 500 Ponzi schemes were uncovered worldwide, including Bernard Bernie Madoffs legendary $17 billion scheme. An official website of the United States government. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, Domestic Violence, Child Exploitation, and Human Trafficking Prevention, Sacramento Businessman Indicted For Bank Fraud, Mexican National Residing in Bakersfield Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Illegal Cockfighting in Violation of the Animal Welfare Act, Laser Strikes on Kern County Sheriff Helicopter Lead to Prison Sentence, Federal Agent Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements in Connection with a Sexual Relationship with a Victim Witness. These individuals collectively are associated with 20 companies in 10 cities. After the previous owner of the Capitals went bankrupt in 2011 and the team was in jeopardy, Wannakuwatte stepped in and kept the team alive. 00:43. 501 I Street, Suite 10-100 Justice in Decade-Long Ponzi Scheme FBI Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. DEEPAL WANNAKUWATTE, Defendant. An official website of the United States government. 1B1.13(2) (requiring a defendant to demonstrate that he is "not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community"); see also 18 U.S.C. Coincidentally, a related company funded with investor funds was, until recently, the beneficiary of an investment by Barbara Corcoran a star of CNBCs hit show Shark Tank. These claims were not true but were made in order to appear more credit worthy. He also serves as the editor and founder of Ponzitracker, an Internet blog that tracks the proliferation of Ponzi schemes across the United States. Barely three months ago, Deepal Wannakuwatte was the picture of success: owner of a medical-supply company and of the Sacramento Capitals professional tennis team. This ruling concludes the federal criminal prosecution; civil proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court are ongoing. I ask forgiveness, said Wannakuwatte, who will be eligible for parole in 17 years. American Bar Association Many of the victims will never be made whole, Wagner said. 138.) 25, 2020) ("General concerns about possible exposure to COVID-19 do not meet the criteria for extraordinary and compelling reasons for a reduction in sentence set forth in the Sentencing Commission's policy statement."). 2:14-cr-00067-TLN (E.D. Id. Persaud is currently serving a three-year sentence in federal prison. Former Sacramento Capitals World TeamTennis owner Deepal Wannakuwatte was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Sacramento to 20 years in prison for his long-running fraud. On November 13, 2014, United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley sentenced Wannakuwatte to 20 years in prison and ordered him to forfeit multiple properties, vehicles, business interests, and bank accounts totaling at least $3.5 million to be used to provide restitution to victims. Losses incurred by the victim financial institutions often threatened their financial stability and reputations. Recently, Ponzitracker.com compiled an extensive collection of statistics from Ponzi schemes during the six-year period from 2008 to 2013, and the results were staggering. Based on the false representations, Bridge Bank authorized a line of credit worth $4.5 million. Even when excluding the three largest Ponzi schemes, the average scheme size was still $43.3 million. The functioning of a Ponzi scheme is inherently simple. He further avowed that these companies had annual revenues in the tens of millions of dollars. The three later entered into plea agreements with prosecutors, resulting for prison terms for the husband and son and a suspended sentence for the wife. (ECF No. 3582(c)(1)(A). Your membership has expired - last chance for uninterrupted access to free CLE and other benefits. This case should serve as a warning to those thinking of committing fraud., FDIC OIG Special Agent in Charge Wade V. Walters stated, The sentencing of Mr. Wannakuwatte today reflects fitting punishment for a fraud scheme that victimized so many trusting individuals, businesses, government agencies, financial institutions, and others. However, while IMG and RelyAid did have a business relationship with the USVA, authorities alleged that this relationship was grossly overstated. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the American Bar Association, the Section of Litigation, this committee, or the employer(s) of the author(s).

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