Michigan man pleads responsible in $40 million trucking Ponzi scheme

A person described by authorities as a “recidivist fraudster” has pleaded responsible to a number of costs in connection to a number of trucking associated fraud schemes that duped buyers and the U.S. authorities out of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.

Canton, Michigan, resident Franklin Ray, 51, pleaded responsible on March 28 to 4 counts of wire fraud, together with one depend of wire fraud whereas launched underneath situations of bail and two counts of wire fraud affecting a monetary establishment, and one depend of aggravated identification theft.

The costs have been issued in reference to numerous fraud schemes regarding Ray’s operation of a trucking enterprise referred to as CSA Enterprise Options LLC and one other Michigan-based trucking firm, in keeping with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York.

“As he admitted in court docket at the moment, between June 2020 and April 2022, Franklin Ray engaged in 4 separate fraudulent schemes by mendacity concerning the enterprise operations of his purported trucking firms, together with two separate PPP frauds and a $40 million Ponzi scheme.  Ray continued his crime spree even after he was arrested by federal authorities in March 2022, overtly defrauding buyers in his faux trucking firm of almost $2 million whereas he was on bail following his arrest.  Because of the exhausting work of the FBI and this Workplace, he’s being held accountable for his serial fraudulent conduct,” mentioned U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams.

Based on the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace, beginning “at the least” in June 2021, Ray started to supply buyers the chance to enter right into a contract with CSA Enterprise Options LLC. As a part of the contract, Ray mentioned that CSA Enterprise Options LLC would procure and function a truck in its trucking enterprise for every $20,000 contributed by the investor.  

“Ray instructed buyers that the vehicles would carry out supply providers for a multinational e-commerce firm and/or a multinational transport firm and that the buyers can be entitled to 77% of the web revenue of the vehicles. In actuality, CSA Enterprise Options LLC operated few vehicles and had minimal revenues from trucking actions. As a substitute, buyers within the Truck Funding Scheme acquired funds from new investments into the scheme or from different sources,” officers mentioned.

Ray finally induced 275 buyers to take a position at the least $40 million and fraudulently claimed to have bought over 2,000 vehicles with the investments.

Ray additionally pleaded responsible to costs associated to a fraudulent scheme to acquire $1.9 million in small enterprise loans meant to offer aid through the COVID-19 pandemic for CSA Enterprise Options LLC and one other Michigan-based trucking firm, though each firms had minimal trucking operations and income.

Ray additionally pleaded responsible to inducing a New York Metropolis-based actual property firm (to pay $175,000 in startup prices for a three way partnership involving SA Enterprise Options LLC. Officers say that Ray spent the $175,000 on private bills, together with non-public airplane journeys, and that the three way partnership was by no means shaped.

The U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace additionally asserts that Ray continued working the truck funding scheme after his arrest in early March 2022 and till his indictment in April 2022.

“Ray hid the actual fact of his arrest and the seizure of the checking account and lied to buyers about why he didn’t make anticipated funds after his arrest.  Throughout the interval after his arrest, Ray opened new financial institution accounts on behalf of CSA Enterprise Options LLC and continued to solicit and settle for investor funds for vehicles that didn’t exist.  Within the post-arrest interval alone, Ray defrauded buyers into paying at the least $1.9 million into his scheme,” officers mentioned.

The costs of wire fraud whereas launched underneath situations of bail and wire fraud affecting a monetary establishment every carry a most sentence of 30 years in jail. The opposite cost of wire fraud carries a most sentence of 20 years in jail. Aggravated identification theft carries an extra necessary two-year sentence, which have to be imposed consecutively to some other sentence.

Ray has agreed to forfeit $42,128,912 and to pay the victims restitution.