Miami Man Sentenced in Mail and Wire Fraud Investment Scheme
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 25, 2012 |
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce today’s sentencing of defendant Michael Scott Segal, 51, of Miami. U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced Segal to 46 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, the court ordered the defendant to pay $912,570.50 in restitution to the victims. A restitution hearing was scheduled for August 8, 2012 for those victims who were unable to appear in court today.
A federal grand jury charged the defendant with multiple counts of mail and wire fraud in connection with the operation of an investment scheme that defrauded family, friends, and other individuals. To execute his scheme, Segal solicited family, friends, and others to invest in his company, Bright Jewel Holdings Limited Inc., or with Segal personally. Segal offered various purported investment opportunities, including the purchase of inexpensive consumer goods from China, a land development project in China, and a Venezuelan security cargo locks deal.
Segal offered investors the opportunity to purchase inexpensive consumer goods manufactured in China, and then have those goods shipped to the United States or Venezuela for re-sale at large profits. Among the goods he offered to prospective purchasers/investors were Chinese-made DVDs, cargo container security locks, Blackberry cell phones, shopping carts, televisions, electronic cigarettes, Playstation 3 entertainment systems, and iPods. In this way, Segal raised more than $1.3 million from investors. However, instead of investing their money to purchase the goods in China, Segal used the investors’ money to fund his personal lifestyle. Virtually no goods were purchased in China or shipped to the promised destinations.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosa Rodriguez-Mera.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.