Feds allege that former NJ man funded high-flying life via investor fraud

A former New Jersey man used “a litany of fraud schemes” to steal millions of dollars from investors, the state U.S. Attorney’s Office has alleged.

Ford Graham, 60, is charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, nine counts of money laundering and one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud and engaging in unlawful money transactions, federal officials said in a news release.

Graham, who formerly resided in Princeton, N.J., was charged with multiple federal crimes in April 2021. Prior to that, authorities claimed he ran a $5 million Ponzi scheme with his wife, Katherine Graham, in a 2019 case.

“We allege Graham used a litany of fraud schemes to steal money from his investors,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy. “He moved from one to the next, using millions of dollars to fund his lavish life but not his promised investments.”

From December 2012 to September 2013, Graham advertised himself as a “highly successful financier” and owner, chief executive, chairman, manager, and/or principal member of dozens of corporate entities purporting to do business under an umbrella organization, Vulcan Capital Corp., court documents say.

In connection with one such investment that Graham and a Vulcan entity sponsored, one victim invested more than $2 million with Graham, relying on Graham’s misrepresentations and omissions regarding the investment.

The investigation revealed that Graham misappropriated substantial amounts of the victim’s investment money and used it for his own personal benefit and enrichment, investigators say, including international vacations, private school tuition for his children, and other personal amenities.

Through this and other fraudulent misrepresentations uncovered during the investigation, Graham caused multiple victims to lose a total of more than $2.6 million, court documents say.

Phony credit card scheme alleged

Graham also profited from a scheme to defraud merchant processing institutions through fraudulent credit card transactions, investigators allege. From December 2017 to February 2018, Graham used at least one payment processing platform to process fraudulent charges on stolen credit card numbers that he obtained, court documents say.

“The goal of the scheme was for Graham to enrich himself by fraudulently opening merchant accounts … that Graham would thereafter control,” the indictment reads. “Graham then used these fraudulently opened accounts to charge stolen credit card numbers for goods and services that Graham and his companies did not provide.”

When requested by the victim payment processing company to provide supporting documentation, Graham submitted false documentation, including fabricated invoices and credit card authorization forms, fabricated e-mails, forged signatures, altered bank statements, and other false and fraudulent information, court documents say. This scheme resulted in tens of thousands of dollars of losses and the misappropriation of multiple victims’ personal identification information.

Another alleged fraud ran from February 2017 to June 2018 and relied on a business email compromise scheme. Members of the conspiracy sent fraudulent e-mail communications to victims who were scheduled to make substantial outgoing wire transfers to third parties, court documents say.

The fraudulent emails requested the victims to reroute the scheduled payments to different bank accounts that Graham and his conspirators controlled. In one instance, a fraudulent email successfully induced one victim to reroute a payment of more than $650,000 to a bank account that Graham controlled, court documents say.

Graham transferred or caused to be transferred substantial portions of those funds to other accounts that he controlled, and which he used and intended to use for his own personal benefit. Graham and others attempted to defraud multiple victims of at least $6 million through the email scheme, investigators say.

Fraud carries big sentences

The wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross amount of gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

The securities fraud charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Each count of aggravated identity theft is punishable by a statutory mandatory consecutive sentence of two years, which must run consecutively to any other sentence.

Each count of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of $500,000 or not more than twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. The charge of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense or not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transactions.

“We have the tools and internal fortitude to protect our financial systems by investigating, prosecuting, and holding accountable, those who seek to defraud the public,” said Tammy Tomlins, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.