Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 11, 2009

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691


FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending September 11, 2009

1. Newark: CEO Surrenders to FBI for Role in $11 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Worldwide Financial Resources CEO David Findel surrendered to the FBI in connection with an $11 million mortgage reselling scheme. He is charged with wire fraud. Full Story

2. Washington Field: Two Plead Guilty to Contract Fraud Related to Afghanistan Rebuilding

United States Protection and Investigations, LLC executives Delmar Dwayne Spier and Barbara Edens Spier pled guilty to conspiracy, major fraud, and wire fraud arising from an alleged scheme to defraud the United States in connection with U.S.-sponsored rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan. Full Story

3. New York: Four Sentenced to Prison for Election Night Assaults

Four men who committed three hate crime assaults against African-Americans in response to President Barack Obama’s election victory were sentenced to a combined 293 months in prison. Full Story

4. Philadelphia: Former Judges Indicted on Racketeering and Related Charges

A federal grand jury returned a 48-count indictment charging former Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella, Jr. with racketeering and related charges in connection with alleged improper actions to facilitate the construction and operation of juvenile detention facilities owned by PA Child Care, LLC and Western PA Child Care, LLC. Full Story

5. New York: Money Manager Arrested for Operating 30-Year Ponzi Scheme

A criminal complaint was unsealed charging money manager Philip Barry with operating a large-scale scheme in which he induced hundreds of individuals to invest more than $40 million over the course of three decades. The complaint charges that Barry actually was running a Ponzi scheme, paying returns to investors not from any profits earned, but rather from existing investors’ deposits or money paid by new investors. Full Story

6. San Francisco: Silicon Valley Businessman Sentenced for $100 Million Securities Fraud

William J. “Bootsâ€