Toledo-area Men Sentenced to Prison for $24 Million Fraud Involving Iraqi Currency

Two men from the Toledo area were sentenced to prison for their roles in the operation of a $24 million fraud scheme involving the sale of Iraqi dinar currency and non-existent hedge funds, and falsely representing that a member of their organization was a decorated Marine who was wounded in combat, announced Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.

Bradford L. Huebner, 67, of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, was sentenced to 87 months in prison while Charles N. Emmenecker, 67, of Sylvania, Ohio, was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

The men were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud following a two-week trial in May in U.S. District Court in Toledo. Huebner was also convicted on 40 additional counts of money laundering and structuring.

Rudolph M. Coenen, 47, of Jacksonville, Florida, previously pleaded guilty to crimes related to his role in the conspiracy. He was sentenced last month to more than five years in prison.

Michael L. Teadt, 68, of Maumee, Ohio, was convicted on one count of mail fraud. He was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $5,767 in restitution.

Investors lost approximately $23.8 million from dinar sales and more than $700,000 from the sale of non-existent hedge fund “seats” and “placements” as a result of the defendants’ conduct, according to court documents and trial testimony.

“The trial evidence showed that these defendants swindled many people out of their hard-earned money with grandiose fraud claims and offensive lies,” said U.S. Attorney Dettelbach. “From misrepresenting U.S. and global fiscal realities to lying about a defendant's military record, these defendants' conduct not only broke the law, but offended basic concepts of decency.”

“When you knowingly mix deceit and trickery into the financial well-being of individuals, you create a recipe for devastation that could last a lifetime,” said Special Agent in Charge Enstrom. “Today’s verdict reinforces our commitment to every taxpayer that we will identify and prosecute those who promote illegal financial transactions.”

Beginning about August 2010, Huebner, Coenen, and Emmenecker conspired to operate the “BH Group” in Toledo and “Bayshore Capital Investments” in Jacksonville in order to defraud investors through investments in the Iraqi dinar currency and two non-existent hedge funds.

The conspirators promoted the dinar and non-existent hedge funds through the dissemination of a series of material falsehoods conveyed primarily through weekly interstate conference calls and through the conspirators’ web site, according to court documents and trial testimony.

False claims included statements about the U.S. Treasury Department’s holdings of dinar and involvement in the Iraqi dinar investment market, according to court documents.

Additional material false statements made by the defendants include, but are not limited to, the portrayal of Coenen as a former vice president at JP Morgan Chase and a former Marine who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.

Coenen worked for JP Morgan Chase for one day as an account executive/loan officer. He never served in the first Gulf War, was never wounded in combat and never received a Purple Heart, according to court documents.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gene Crawford and Matthew W. Shepherd following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.