Two indicted for defrauding investors out of nearly $600,000
Two people were indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a nearly $600,000 financial fraud, said Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office
Andrea M. Trgovcich, 50, of Youngstown, and Bertrand J. Gray, aka Bert Gray, 52, of Cleveland, were indicted on charges of securities fraud and bank fraud.
Trgovcich is charged with inducing the investment of $578,859 in a business venture known as Wellness Integrated Network LLC (WIN). WIN was intended to develop and market a software application that would integrate diet, fitness, exercise routines, health monitoring, etc., to business employee wellness plans and insurance companies, according to the indictment.
Investors were promised that their money would be used to develop and market the software product. Trgovcich is alleged to have diverted much of the money to personal use. No software application was ever developed or marketed. Gray joined WIN as chief financial officer in 2012, and is alleged to have raised investor funds through the use of false documents and statements, according to the indictment.
Trgovcich is also charged with six counts of bank fraud for withdrawing investor funds from federally-insured banks under false pretenses, according to the indictment.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigating agency in this case is the Youngstown Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was presented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James V. Moroney and Carmen Henderson.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.