Former President and CEO of Billionaire Catt Entertainment Pleads Guilty to Stealing from Victims’ Investments
San Francisco Man Admits to Stealing More Than $1 Million from More Than 10 Victims

SAN FRANCISCO—Today Maurice Michael McCant, the former President and CEO of Billionaire Catt Entertainment (BCE) pleaded guilty to a fraud scheme in which he solicited investors for BCE by offering them a 30 percent return on any money they invested, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. According to the plea agreement, McCant told investors in BCE that their money would be used to promote rap concerts and that he would pay investors a portion of the profits received from ticket sales for the concerts. Instead, McCant used investors’ funds to pay his own personal expenses and to pay other investors.

On March 11, 2011, a federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted McCant on four counts of wire fraud, and this morning he pleaded guilty to all four counts. According to the indictment, McCant, 50, of San Francisco, solicited investors from 2007 through 2009 by telling them he would invest their money in the promotion of rap concerts and by promising investors a 30 percent return on their investments. McCant also promised to pay all federal and state tax liability associated with two victim investors who liquidated their IRAs in order to invest in BCE.

According to the indictment, McCant operated a scheme through which he stole a total of more than $1 million from more than 10 victim investors. In pleading guilty, McCant admitted that he used the proceeds of his scheme to pay mortgages, to pay his own personal expenses, and to pay other investors their expected returns on their investments in BCE.

McCant is scheduled to be sentenced on August 3, 2012, before United States District Court Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, is 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, three years of supervised release, and restitution.

Robin Harris is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rawaty Yim. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.