June 9, 2014

Tampa Contractor Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding Hundreds of Investors in Connection with Home Solutions of America Inc. Stock

DALLAS—Businessman Brian Marshall, 50, of Tampa, Floriad, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to four years in federal prison for defrauding investors in connection with the sale of Home Solutions of America Inc. stock, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Marshall was remanded immediately to custody following the sentencing hearing.

Marshall pleaded guilty on November 18, 2013, the day his trial was to begin in federal court in Dallas, to one count of securities and commodities fraud.

Marshall was a vice-president and a member of the board of Home Solutions of America Inc., a NASDAQ-traded company that was based in Dallas before it relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, in July 2008. Home Solutions was in the business of construction and restoration, including new construction and restoration following natural disasters such as hurricanes. Home Solutions conducted some of its business through its largest subsidiary, Fireline Restoration Inc., which was based in Tampa. Marshall was the president of Fireline. Frank J. Fradella of Covington, Louisiana, who was the CEO of Home Solutions, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in the Eastern District of Louisiana and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24, 2014.

In filed plea documents, Marshall admitted that between December 2006 and August 15, 2007, he ran a scheme to defraud public investors by fabricating false and fictitious revenue, operating income and costs in connection with a series of construction contracts in Tampa. Marshall caused Fireline to enter into construction contracts with private companies that he wholly or partially owned, including a $4 million contract for the construction of his personal residence.

Marshall admitted that he also caused Fireline to record revenue and income from the construction contracts that were false, because little, if any, work had actually been performed. Even though Marshall knew that the revenue, costs, and income on the construction projects were false, he caused Home Solutions to report it to public investors in Home Solutions’ 2Q 2007 10-Q.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

The FBI, with substantial assistance from the Enforcement Division staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Nicholas Bunch and Andrew Wirmani prosecuted.