A district court recently sentenced Edison Denizard of Orlando, Florida, to four years and nine months in federal prison for his role in a $7 million investment fraud scheme, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
As stated in the release:
“[B}etween March 2016 and June 2017, Denizard raised millions of dollars from dozens of victims who believed that they were investing in specific music concerts through legitimate businesses owned by Denizard and a co-conspirator, Andres Fernandez. Fernandez and Denizard lured investors by guaranteeing them large monetary returns and promising that all of the funds that they provided would be invested in events by top artists, including Drake, Garth Brooks, Pitbull, The Weeknd, and Maná. In fact, neither Denizard nor Fernandez was involved in most of the events.”
Instead, Edison Denizard used the majority of the funds he received from investors to pay fake “investment returns” to earlier investors, the classic Hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. He also used the investor monies to fund his lavish lifestyle, which included purchasing a lakefront residence, buying luxury vehicles, and staying in luxury hotels.
The total amount of victims’ losses attributable to Denizard was $7,479,453.
Fernandez, who was the primary operator of the scheme, previously pled guilty and was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison.
Fishman Haygood’s Investment Fraud Division has experience bringing claims on behalf of investors who were the victims of investment fraud schemes. If you believe you have suffered losses due to the advice and/or actions of your broker or investment advisor, please contact us to discuss your possible claim.
