Home Buffalo Press Releases 2010 Expensive Cars, Artwork, and Electronic Equipment Forfeited in Investment Fraud Investigation
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Expensive Cars, Artwork, and Electronic Equipment Forfeited in Investment Fraud Investigation

U.S. Attorney’s Office August 20, 2010
  • Western District of New York (716) 843-5700

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr.  announced today that Judge Richard J. Arcara has ordered the forfeiture of several expensive cars, artwork/sculpture, and electronic equipment seized last year from an individual who is under investigation for investment fraud. Judge Arcara agreed with the government that the claims of Rosemary Wilson and David Smith should be stricken and orders of forfeitures should be granted over five vehicles, including a 2008 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged, a 2005 Hummer, a 2008 Land Rover LR3, a 2005 Mercedes Benz ML 500, and a 2006 Chevy Corvette. Rosemary Wilson is the mother of Michael Wilson, who was the chief executive officer of Phantom Holdings One LLC and New Frontier Holdings, LLC, the companies whose offices were the subject of court authorized search warrants in July 2009 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. David Smith was the Chief Operating Officer of New Frontier Holdings LLC.
 
The government alleged in its forfeiture complaint that the assets were purchased with investor funds that were supposed to be invested in high-yield financial instruments. The 2008 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged itself was purchased with investor funds at a price of over $100,000 in 2008. Among the 15 pieces of artwork/sculpture, two pieces alone, an oil painting by artist Michael Flohr and a painting by artist Frank Devita, had a combined value of over $23,000. The electronic equipment included seven flat screen televisions and a WIFI Universal Remote System. The complaints further alleged that David Smith received the 2006 Chevy Corvette, worth nearly $41,000, from Michael Wilson as a birthday present.
 
Now that the properties have been forfeited, the government will sell the assets and may seek to use the funds to pay back any victims of the investment fraud.
 
“There can be no better use of the federal forfeiture laws than to strip wrongdoers of their illegal proceeds and return them to the innocent victims who were defrauded,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. 
 
In 2009, the U.S. Attorney’s office returned nearly $3,000,000 to victims through forfeited assets in previous cases prosecuted by this office and Hochul intends to continue doing so in appropriate cases. 
 
These civil forfeiture actions were the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of James H. Robertson, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Office. U.S. Attorney Hochul stated that the investigation into Wilson and his companies will continue.

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