Fraud

A new legal filing alleges that a cryptocurrency promoted in January by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump was part of a sophisticated scheme that used celebrity association to lend legitimacy to token launches, according to Wired. 

One of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels is smuggling gasoline and diesel into the Port of Ensenada with the aid of a “dark fleet” tanker and a Houston-based company, according to an investigation by Reuters. 

Canada will launch a new federal financial-crimes agency and change banking laws to clamp down on online fraud and other scams, the country’s Department of Finance announced on Monday. 

Federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed an indictment charging Josh Wander, co-founder of collapsed investment firm 777 Partners, with wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy, alleging he fabricated financial records and misled lenders and investors in a scheme worth up to $500 million. The 17-page filing in Manhattan federal court says Wander used bogus documents and […]

A British national pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court for his role in a fraud scheme that took nearly $100 million from victims who funded loans to fake wine collectors, Reuters said. 

Police in southern Brazil have arrested four people accused of running a nationwide Instagram ad scam that used AI-generated videos and images of supermodel Gisele Bündchen and other celebrities, Reuters reported. 

The former chairman of the board at Puerto Rico–based Nodus International Bank, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a $13.6-million scheme that contributed to the institution’s 2023 collapse. 

Mexico’s attorney general has vowed to issue more arrest warrants—potentially targeting government officials—in connection with sprawling fuel theft operations that siphon billions of dollars from the country.