Orange County Criminal Attorney Blog

An Orange County man faces multiple criminal charges, including money laundering and grand theft, for an alleged gold investment scam. In early 2011, William Scott Spalding allegedly set up several businesses to solicit cash from gold investors. According to prosecutors, Spalding would pose as a gold investor and promise a high rate of return if people purchased gold from him. One Huntington Beach woman reportedly entered into a contract with Spalding in March 2011. The contract stated that she would pay him $280,000 and he would provide her with a certain amount of gold "in the immediate future." She gave Spalding the money, but he allegedly never purchased any gold. After what she described as multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact Spalding to get her money back, she notified law enforcement.

The U.S. Marshals Service and Huntington Beach police arrested Spalding in August 2011 for suspicion of using business fronts to "extort" money from prospective investors for promises of gold. Investigators reported that, prior to his arrest, they found that Spalding's phone was disconnected and the address associated with his businesses was fake. Spalding had also legally changed his name to Jonathan Scott Morgan in April. After his arrest, police described Spalding "living the high life" at his home in Irvine, with several new cars and large amounts of cash. Investigators claim he put the money obtained from the Huntington Beach woman into personal accounts and used it to pay for expenses like the cars and the house.

Spalding had served forty months in federal prison for a scheme involving a movie deal that reportedly defrauded several people in Redondo Beach out of $300,000. He had only recently been released from prison when the alleged gold investment scam would have taken place. The requirements of his release from prison included payment of restitution to his victims and avoidance of criminal activity. He reportedly did not pay restitution as required and was already considered a fugitive at the time of his arrest.

Spalding's recent prison release and fugitive status, in combination with his reportedly lavish lifestyle, led investigators to speculate that he had more than one victim in the gold investment scheme. Huntington Beach police requested assistance from the public in identifying additional victims after Spalding's arrest.

Continue reading "Alleged Gold Investment Fraud Results in Multiple Criminal Charges for Orange County Man" »

A judge sentenced a Queens family to a collective 418 year prison sentence for a con job that took about $2 million from fellow immigrants. The Ramsundar family, consisting of Shane, age 50, his wife Gomatee, 46, and their daughter Shantal, 23, were convicted in November 2011 of multiple criminal offenses including grand larceny and money laundering. They are immigrants from Trinidad, located in the Caribbean. Their alleged con had two parts. One involved obtaining money from other members of the immigrant community purportedly to purchase properties that had been seized by federal law enforcement. The other involved convincing immigrants that they could assist them in obtaining green cards and in removing immigrants' names from various law enforcement lists. Shane Ramsundar would impersonate an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. He kept false identification, a fake badge, and an air pistol as part of the ruse. He approached many of his victims at Hindu temples in and around his Queens neighborhood and built trust through shared religion and nationality.

He would reportedly tell victims that federal agents could bid preferentially on properties seized by the IRS and DEA before they were auctioned to the public. He received as much as $1.5 million from ten victims, who were told the money was to buy properties in Florida and Queens. He would also tell victims that he could help them, for a price, to obtain green cards, and that he could have their names removed from certain government watch lists. He received up to $250,000 from twelve people for this. In all, the family reportedly defrauded nineteen people, with some of them giving money to both scams.

Gomatee Rasmundar was accused of facilitating the immigration scam by convincing victims that they could get them green cards. Shantal Gomatee was accused of laundering the money obtained from the victims. The family reportedly used eleven different bank accounts for the money, eight of which were in Shantal's name.

The Rasmundars were indicted in March 2010 on thirty-four counts. In addition to money laundering and grand larceny, they faced conspiracy charges, criminal impersonation, and a charge related to unlawful possession of an air pistol. They all pleaded not guilty, and the case went to trial in late 2011. A jury convicted all of them on November 22, 2011. Shane Rasmundar received the maximum allowable sentence of 235 years. Gomatee Rasmundar was sentenced to 153 years in prison, and Shantal Rasmundar received a 30-year sentence.

Continue reading "Family Convicted of Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme Gets Over 400 Years in Prison" »

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled a search warrant must be obtained before government agents can read your email. The Court noted, in U.S. v. Warshak, emails require protection under the 4th Amendment. The Court held emails are fundamentally similar to more traditional forms of communication and hence should receive similar 4th Amendment protection.

The beginning of this ruling goes back to Steven Warshak, the man behind the male enhancement product Enzyte. The FTC said there was no proof Enzyte worked. Further, Warshak's employees were alleged to have signed up individuals for monthly prescriptions which were very difficult to terminate. It was within this context the federal government obtained Warshak's emails via a court order. A court order, however, is much easier to secure than a search warrant. Warshak alleged the search violated his 4th Amendment rights. In the civil case, the 6th Circuit Court ruled the emails were protected and, subsequently, upheld Warshak's criminal conviction for 93 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. The Court, however, threw out his 25 year sentence and ordered Warshak resentenced.

The ruling by the 6th Circuit Court is right in line with the current law requiring protection for communications. There should be no difference between emails and other forms of protected communication. Federal and state authorities will always try to find "shortcuts" in acquiring evidence. This is why it is vital to rigorously enforce the 4th Amendment.