Two Charged in $6 Million Fraud Scheme

ORLANDO—United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Brian Newton (56, Port Orange) and Victoria Snow (54, Clearwater) with conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Newton and Snow were arrested today and will make their initial appearances in federal court in Orlando this afternoon. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, Newton and Snow worked on behalf of Dataforce International Inc. Dataforce had a contract to “factor” its invoices at Amerifactors Financial Group. Factoring is a financial transaction by which a business sells its accounts receivables, such as invoices, to a third party (called a factor) at a discount. The accounts receivable is created when a business performs services or sells goods to a client. The factor provides financing to the seller of the invoice in the form of an advance. Once an invoice has been factored by a business, the business will typically arrange to have the client pay the third party factor directly.

From 2003 until August 2009, Newton and Snow allegedly submitted a series of invoices for factoring to Amerifactors that were inflated and that did not reflect work that had been performed by Dataforce. In addition, Newton and Snow engaged in “double factoring,” which involved submitting the same Dataforce invoice for factoring to both Amerifactors and Prestige Funding. To deceive Amerifactors and Prestige Funding into funding those invoices, Newton and Snow allegedly submitted altered work orders to Amerifactors and falsely represented that Dataforce had an arrangement to factor its invoices with Prestige Funding. By executing this scheme, Newton and Snow were able to defraud Amerifactors, Prestige Funding, and the investors of Prestige Funding of more than $6 million.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.