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CINCINNATI MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN INVESTMENT SCHEME
August 16, 2004
| United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Ohio 200 West Second Street - Suite 602 Dayton, OH 45402 Tel: 937.225.2910 Fax: 937.225.2564 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
| DAYTON
- George J. Fiorini II, age 55, of Cleves, a former insurance
and investment salesman, pled guilty in United States
District Court here today to interstate transportation
of stolen property, mail fraud, and filing a false tax
return in connection with an investment scheme he operated
that cheated more than 170 investors out of more than
$5 million between 1997 and 2002. Fiorini entered the
plea as his trial on 83 counts related to the scheme was
set to begin. Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, in conjunction with Todd Hildebrand, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation Cincinnati Field Division; Gerald O'Farrell, Assistant Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service; and Cromwell A. Handy, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation announced the plea entered before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose. The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Securities and the Ohio Department of Insurance also participated in the investigation. In May 2003, a federal grand jury indicted Fiorini on 79 fraud and tax charges connected to his operation of The Fiorini Agency in Cincinnati. Through his agency, Fiorini advertised and promoted the 10% Income Plus Plan as a risk-free investment that featured a guaranteed principal, no fee for withdrawals, no administration fees, no tax on accumulated interest, and a guaranteed rate of interest. Instead of investing the money, however, he used the funds on personal expenses for himself, his family members, and his friends. He made payments to investors with funds from subsequent investors operating what is commonly referred to as a Ponzi scheme. A federal grand jury charged Fiorini in November 2003 with nine additional counts in a superseding indictment. Fiorini plead guilty today to one count of mail fraud, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and one count of filing a false tax return in the superceding indictment. The tax charge is connected to Fiorini's 1998 federal income tax return on which he failed to report $1,885,367 in income. "Investment schemes such as this one reinforce the message that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is," Lockhart said. He now faces a maximum five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on the mail fraud count. He faces a maximum ten years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on the interstate transportation of stolen property, and on the filing a false tax return count he faces a maximum three years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Judge Rose will set the sentencing for a later date. Lockhart commended the joint investigative efforts of the FBI, Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation and the state agencies involved - the Ohio Department of Insurance and the Ohio Division of Securities. For additional comment contact Fred Alverson, Public Affairs Officer at 614.469.5715. The Internet address for the homepage for the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio is www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohs. |