FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 15, 2009
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MA
CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
PHONE: (617)748-3356
E-MAIL: USAMA.MEDIA@USDOJ.GOV
NEWTON MAN SENTENCED FOR $1.8 MILLION MAIL/WIRE FRAUD AND WITNESS TAMPERING
BOSTON, MA - A Newton man was sentenced today in federal court to 78 months in prison for defrauding more than 15 individuals across the United States and Canada of more than $1.8 million, as well as for witness tampering.
Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks and Randy Miskanic, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, announced today that JOSHUA S. FINK, age 34, of 69 Hamlet Street, Newton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to 78 months years in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Judge Stearns also ordered FINK to pay $1,830,420 in restitution and to forfeit $25,000 which had previously been seized by the government. FINK pleaded guilty to 34 counts of wire fraud, 7 counts of wire fraud and one count of witness tampering on October 14, 2008.
At the earlier plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that had the case proceeded to trial the Government’s evidence would have proven that from 2002 through 2008, FINK held himself out variously as a venture capitalist, business consultant, securities broker and/or business loan procurer, and obtained over $1.8 million, in aggregate, from more than fifteen individuals in the United States and Canada based on representations that such funds would be used for legitimate investment and business purposes for the benefit of those individuals. Instead, the prosecutor stated, FINK diverted funds that had been entrusted to him for investment and other business purposes, and used those funds for his own personal expenses such as paying credit card bills and other living expenses, trading securities in his personal securities account, and obtaining cash. FINK did so using bank accounts which he maintained and controlled, in the names of First Round Capital LLC, MA Partners, BMP Inc., and FS McKinley Grover. In addition, the prosecutor informed the court that after FINK was arraigned in February 2008 on the original Indictment, he contacted a witness in violation of his release conditions and attempted to get the witness to provide a false statement asserting that FINK had done everything he promised, for the purpose of obstructing an ongoing grand jury investigation.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and referred for investigation by the Massachusetts Securities Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Loucks’ Economic Crimes Unit.
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