![](https://investorshub.advfn.com/uicon/315468.png?cb=1473363790)
Friday, December 02, 2016 11:21:04 AM
Ruppert and Richard Marshall pleaded guilty to securities fraud, mail
fraud and wire fraud.
ICS Busted for Securities, Mail and Wire Fraud
Boca Raton -- the upscale city known for its wealth, its
lushness and its white-collar crime -- was the setting for a bustling
boiler room that defrauded 144 investors of $2 million, authorities
said Thursday.
A federal grand jury returned a 71-count indictment accusing 10
defendants of securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, money
laundering and perjury. Five others have already pleaded guilty or
plan to.
They worked for International Communications Specialists, ICS, in a
suite on West Palmetto Park Road.
Their alleged scam: Selling unregistered securities to investors
throughout the United States through a combination of lies and deceit.
Using "lead lists" culled from other boiler rooms, salesmen called
thousands of potential investors. Reading from scripts, they described
ICS as an opportunity to "get in on the ground floor of the rapidly
expanding wireless communications industry."
Salespeople said ICS was offering interests -- at a cost of $10,000 to
$17,000 apiece -- in revenues from mobile radio licenses and radio
towers purportedly owned by ICS.
The lie: ICS didn't own FCC licenses, as alleged, but merely options
to purchase licenses. Still, salespeople described the investment as
"safe" and inquired about the investor's net worth and past investments.
"The information, as well as an assessment of potential investors'
interest and perceived gullibility -- potential investors were often
described as 'mooch' and 'controllable' -- were noted for use in
further contacts with the potential investor," the indictment says.
One principal allegedly used $11,225 of investors' money to buy
jewelry for himself, his girlfriend and salespeople.
The scam, which allegedly operated from September 1991 to February
1992, was investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Securities
and Exchange Commission, and the Postal Inspection Service. The
prosecutors are Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Murad and Special
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krudys.
Those charged Thursday: Richard Weber, 49, and Ira DiCapua, 36, of
Boca Raton; Jon Stewart, 41, and Ira Cohen, 48, of Fort Lauderdale;
Michael Harvey, 48, of Pompano Beach; Dwayne Shepherd, 35, of
Plantation; James Michaels, 42, of Lauderhill; Wayne Axelrod, 25, of
Chicago; Gary Nakkula, 42, of Brighton, Mich.; and Brandon Rios, 24,
of Trenton, N.J.
Ruppert has been scamming his entire life.
IG
"Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?"
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