Thomas Guerriero
Dec 21, 2015 9:51:37 GMT
Post by Watcher on Dec 21, 2015 9:51:37 GMT
The latest from the U.S...
www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-oxford-city-fraud-20151218-story.html
A South Florida man charged with running a $6.6 million fraud will remain jailed after federal prosecutors said he threatened witnesses and their children, and tried to get victims to change their stories.
Thomas A. Guerriero, 39, of Hillsboro Beach, resigned as director of the Oxford City Football Club in England last week when it became clear a federal indictment was imminent. He is facing 10 charges, including fraud conspiracy, tampering with witnesses and obstruction of justice.
Guerriero was recorded, sitting in his Bentley in a local parking lot in February, making threatening statements about people he thought might be cooperating with investigators.
"Everyone has kids and everyone has a breaking point," Guerriero said, according to a transcript of one secretly-recorded conversation read aloud Friday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.
Federal prosecutor Roger Cruz told a judge Guerriero made menacing remarks about a number of potential witnesses and their families, including some with young children. Guerriero alternated between intimidation and promises he would "spend money to protect" people who stood by him, Cruz said.
In an expletive laden message, Guerriero told a witness he had people "monitoring" anyone who could harm him and he also threatened to pistol whip another man, authorities said. The defense said the man he threatened to pistol whip was a disgruntled former employee who told Guerriero he was coming over with a gun to collect money Guerriero owed him.
During a meeting with one witness, authorities said Guerriero pulled out a photograph of a man in his late 20s, the son of a cooperating witness and indicated he knew where the young man lived.
Guerriero surrendered to the FBI Wednesday at Boca Raton Regional Hospital when he was discharged after spending a week recovering from complications of recent surgeries.
Authorities said he spent some of the time in his hospital bed contacting victims and trying to get them to change the accounts they gave FBI agents and investigators from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Guerriero's lawyer David Raben told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle his client knew he was under federal scrutiny for a long time but remained in South Florida. Raben questioned why authorities waited until December to charge Guerriero if they thought threats he allegedly made in February were of such grave concern.
"We're in December and nothing has happened to any of these people," Raben said. "There is no overt violence in this case."
Raben told the Sun Sentinel he's working on a "vigorous defense." Guerriero is due back in court on Dec. 28, when he is expected to plead not guilty to the charges.
Guerriero, in dark blue jail scrubs and handcuffed and shackled, spoke briefly to the judge to explain the transactions surrounding his real estate purchases in Broward and Palm Beach counties. All his known assets have been frozen because of the criminal and SEC civil action.
Raben said that because of concerns about his health and dietary needs, Guerriero ate nothing and drank only water in the two days he spent so far in the Broward jail system. The defense also claimed he has not received needed medication.
Guerriero, who was living on exclusive Hillsboro Mile, said in court that he has ownership rights to that home and homes in Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton that are held under a corporation in his estranged wife's name. He also said he has a graduate degree in business studies from Harvard University.
Prosecutors said the father of three young children is a flight risk and a danger to the community. They said he withdrew $130,000 cash from his accounts in October and has significant ties to England, where he was planning to move.
Authorities said Guerriero was the ringleader of a major telemarketing and investment fraud, based in Deerfield Beach. He was indicted last week with one woman and seven men from Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Investigators said he crafted a scam plan and wrote the scripts his salespeople used to get about 150 people to invest
The suspects "used high-pressure, strong-armed tactics to intimidate and coerce" investors, threatening to sue anyone who balked at going through with the transactions, ruin their credit ratings and seize their money if they did not pay promptly, according to court records.
Guerriero met with SEC investigators in Washington, D.C., earlier this year but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to respond to most of the questions he was asked, FBI Agent Phillip Bond testified Friday.
Guerriero's resignation announcement from Oxford City Football Club, a minor league soccer team based in the university town northwest of London, alluded to Guerriero's ill health but not the criminal charges.
Cruz said Guerriero had previously been fired by two broker dealers in the U.S. for "lying to investors" and has a prior history of problems with the SEC. About $2 million of investors' money has been traced directly to Guerriero, Cruz said, and much of the rest appears to have been used to pay his employees and for other expenses
www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-oxford-city-fraud-20151218-story.html
A South Florida man charged with running a $6.6 million fraud will remain jailed after federal prosecutors said he threatened witnesses and their children, and tried to get victims to change their stories.
Thomas A. Guerriero, 39, of Hillsboro Beach, resigned as director of the Oxford City Football Club in England last week when it became clear a federal indictment was imminent. He is facing 10 charges, including fraud conspiracy, tampering with witnesses and obstruction of justice.
Guerriero was recorded, sitting in his Bentley in a local parking lot in February, making threatening statements about people he thought might be cooperating with investigators.
"Everyone has kids and everyone has a breaking point," Guerriero said, according to a transcript of one secretly-recorded conversation read aloud Friday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.
Federal prosecutor Roger Cruz told a judge Guerriero made menacing remarks about a number of potential witnesses and their families, including some with young children. Guerriero alternated between intimidation and promises he would "spend money to protect" people who stood by him, Cruz said.
In an expletive laden message, Guerriero told a witness he had people "monitoring" anyone who could harm him and he also threatened to pistol whip another man, authorities said. The defense said the man he threatened to pistol whip was a disgruntled former employee who told Guerriero he was coming over with a gun to collect money Guerriero owed him.
During a meeting with one witness, authorities said Guerriero pulled out a photograph of a man in his late 20s, the son of a cooperating witness and indicated he knew where the young man lived.
Guerriero surrendered to the FBI Wednesday at Boca Raton Regional Hospital when he was discharged after spending a week recovering from complications of recent surgeries.
Authorities said he spent some of the time in his hospital bed contacting victims and trying to get them to change the accounts they gave FBI agents and investigators from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Guerriero's lawyer David Raben told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle his client knew he was under federal scrutiny for a long time but remained in South Florida. Raben questioned why authorities waited until December to charge Guerriero if they thought threats he allegedly made in February were of such grave concern.
"We're in December and nothing has happened to any of these people," Raben said. "There is no overt violence in this case."
Raben told the Sun Sentinel he's working on a "vigorous defense." Guerriero is due back in court on Dec. 28, when he is expected to plead not guilty to the charges.
Guerriero, in dark blue jail scrubs and handcuffed and shackled, spoke briefly to the judge to explain the transactions surrounding his real estate purchases in Broward and Palm Beach counties. All his known assets have been frozen because of the criminal and SEC civil action.
Raben said that because of concerns about his health and dietary needs, Guerriero ate nothing and drank only water in the two days he spent so far in the Broward jail system. The defense also claimed he has not received needed medication.
Guerriero, who was living on exclusive Hillsboro Mile, said in court that he has ownership rights to that home and homes in Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton that are held under a corporation in his estranged wife's name. He also said he has a graduate degree in business studies from Harvard University.
Prosecutors said the father of three young children is a flight risk and a danger to the community. They said he withdrew $130,000 cash from his accounts in October and has significant ties to England, where he was planning to move.
Authorities said Guerriero was the ringleader of a major telemarketing and investment fraud, based in Deerfield Beach. He was indicted last week with one woman and seven men from Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Investigators said he crafted a scam plan and wrote the scripts his salespeople used to get about 150 people to invest
The suspects "used high-pressure, strong-armed tactics to intimidate and coerce" investors, threatening to sue anyone who balked at going through with the transactions, ruin their credit ratings and seize their money if they did not pay promptly, according to court records.
Guerriero met with SEC investigators in Washington, D.C., earlier this year but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to respond to most of the questions he was asked, FBI Agent Phillip Bond testified Friday.
Guerriero's resignation announcement from Oxford City Football Club, a minor league soccer team based in the university town northwest of London, alluded to Guerriero's ill health but not the criminal charges.
Cruz said Guerriero had previously been fired by two broker dealers in the U.S. for "lying to investors" and has a prior history of problems with the SEC. About $2 million of investors' money has been traced directly to Guerriero, Cruz said, and much of the rest appears to have been used to pay his employees and for other expenses
