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Date: 05-05-2022
Case Style:
Case Number: 19-cr-20447
Judge: Raag Singhal
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Miami-Dade County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office
Defendant's Attorney: Sid Fleischman and Neil Karadbil
Description: Miami, Florida criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Jason Van Eman held himself out as a film producer and financier, offering to fund independent motion pictures, Broadway shows, music festivals, and other productions. Van Eman promised the victims (producers and others seeking financing), that his partner (a co-conspirator named Benjamin McConley) would match any cash that the victims contributed to their projects. Then, with the combined starting capital (which made the projects more attractive to investors), McConley would apply for and secure financing from financial institutions.
Based on these lies, victims sent over $60 million to accounts controlled by the fraudsters. Contrary to what Van Eman promised victims, his partner never matched their cash contributions or applied for financing. Instead, Van Eman and his co-conspirators stole the victims’ money by transferring it to their personal and corporate bank accounts, often within days of deposit. To make the scam more believable, Van Eman and McConley recruited Benjamin Rafael, a bank employee, whose role was to assure victims that their cash contributions had been matched and that their money was secure – neither of which was true.
Van Eman, McConley, and Rafael used the stolen money to purchase luxury automobiles, personal watercraft, real estate, jewelry, home furnishings, designer clothes, hotel accommodations, and private and commercial air travel. Van Eman used some of the stolen cash to fund movies in which he was cast.
Van Eman is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal. He faces up to several decades in prison.
McConley previously pled guilty in this case and was sentenced to a prison term of 13 years. Rafael was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment for participating in two frauds: the first, the film financing scheme; the second, concealing his criminal history on applications for COVID-19 relief.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the guilty verdict.
FBI Miami Field Division investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Browne and Yisel Valdes are prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone is handling asset forfeiture.
Outcome: 05/03/2022 281 CLERK'S Notice of Maintaining Audio-Visual Exhibit(s) received from Government as to Jason Van Eman. (drz) (Entered: 05/03/2022)
05/03/2022 282 CLERK'S Notice of Receipt of Government's Exhibit(s) received from Government. Exhibit Numbers: Government's Paper Exhibits as to Jason Van Eman. (drz) (Entered: 05/03/2022)
05/03/2022 283 CLERK'S Notice of Receipt of Defendant's Paper Exhibit(s) received from Defendant. Exhibit Numbers: Defendant's Paper Exhibits as to Jason Van Eman. (drz) (Entered: 05/03/2022)
05/03/2022 284 CLERK'S Notice of Policy re Electronic Submission of Exhibit(s) sent to Government/Defendant Re D.E. 282 Clerk's Exhibit/Notices, 283 Clerk's Exhibit/Notices
Local Rule 5.3 provides that within ten (10) days of the conclusion of a hearing or trial, a party must file in CM/ECF an electronic version of most exhibits offered or introduced into evidence. Before electronically filing, the filer must redact any sensitive, confidential, or private information in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2, Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1, and CM/ECF Administrative Procedures, Section 6, or seek an order from the Court either to seal the exhibit or to exempt the exhibit from electronic filing under subsection (b)(3)(C) of the rule. Failure to electronically file exhibits and the Certificate of Compliance Re Admitted Evidence within ten (10) days may result in the imposition of sanctions. The Local Rule, The Certificate of Compliance Re Admitted Evidence, and the Quick Reference Guide to Electronically Filing Trial Exhibits can be found on the Courts website: http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov as to Jason Van Eman. (drz) (Entered: 05/03/2022)
Defendant was found guilty.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: