WHITE PLAINS – A Haverstraw man pled guilty in federal court on Thursday to defrauding victims of more than $900,000 by soliciting investments in a sham financial firm based on misrepresentations and fraudulent documents.
It was alleged that Jorge Padilla, 33, orchestrated a scheme to solicit investments in a sham family investment office, Dunatos Capital.
Padilla, a financial professional registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, worked throughout the period at issue for large financial institutions.
He was charged with targeting Argentina-based victim-investors who had been clients of one of those institutions, claiming he had gone to work for Dunatos Capital, purportedly a family office managing tens of millions of dollars in investments.
He made false representations in order to solicit investments for the sham firm. After victims transferred funds as per his instructions, Padilla prepared and sent fraudulent statements about how the funds were invested.
He pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries up to 20 years in federal prison.
