PHILIP BILBAO PLEADS GUILTY TO SECURITIES FRAUD AND TAX EVASION

Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Brian J. Wimpling, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced that Philip Bilbao pled guilty today to securities fraud and tax evasion charges before United States District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Specifically, Bilbao pled guilty today to Count 1 of the Indictment, which charges a securities fraud transaction in which Bilbao, using fraudulent pretenses and material misrepresentations and omission, sold a promissory note in the amount of $50,000 to a victim of Bilbao’s scheme. Bilbao also pled guilty to Count 27 of the Indictment, which charges Bilbao with evading taxes for the tax year 1998 by failing to report approximately $952,083.59 in income and by failing to pay the approximately $330,396.83 in income tax due and owing on that income.

Bilbao faces a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment on the securities fraud count and five years’ imprisonment on the tax evasion count.

According to the Indictment, Bilbao sold investments in his Creative Actors and Co., which he falsely claimed was in the business of developing and producing movies. Bilbao defrauded approximately forty-three investors out of roughly $2.3 million through his scheme. Among other victims, Bilbao preyed on members of his church, falsely advising them that Creative Actors produced Christian films. In reality, Bilbao used the monies obtained from investors for his own personal benefit at, among other places, Mayor’s Jewelers (approximately $402,000), the New Auto Toy Store (approximately $250,000), Fort Lauderdale Harley-Davidson (approximately $94,000), Mr. Santoro (approximately $86,000), Lauderdale Imports-BMW (approximately $67,000), and Maroone Ford (approximately $45,000). The Indictment further alleges that to perpetuate the fraud, Bilbao used some of the monies obtained from later investors to pay earlier investors a “return” on their investments. Finally, the Indictment charges Bilbao with evading a total of approximately $706,000 in federal income taxes for the tax years 1997 through 2000.

Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robin S. Rosenbaum.