Business Crimes Hotline

The alleged conspiracy revolved around Niyato Industries, Inc., a company registered in Nevada, but owned and operated by Robert Stencil out of Charlotte. All nine defendants were allegedly involved in sales pitches and publications that marketed Niyato as a pioneering manufacturer of compressed natural gas automobiles. Federal prosecutors claim the company was nothing but a front to bilk investors.

The indictment claims that since January 2012, Broyles, Sierp, Lewis, Fleming, Duke, Saccomanno and Swerdlen used “high-pressure” sales tactics and false representations to induce investors to mail and wire funds to Robert and Ludmilda Stencil.

Federal prosecutors allege that the defendants told investors that Niyato “had a headquarters in Charlotte, and at least one operational facility that manufactured electric vehicles and [had already] sold 2,700 such vehicles.” They also allegedly claimed the company possessed patented technology and proprietary hardware and had valuable contracts to produce more vehicles and establish 5,000 natural gas pumps across the continental U.S. Prosecutors allege the defendants even misrepresented the company's leadership, claiming Niyato had “high-profile executives” and employed a former manager of Toyota Motor Corporation as its Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer.

The defendants allegedly made these false representations by telephone and email, working out of a telemarketing call center owned by Sierp in Costa Rica. Prosecutors claim the defendants cold-called victims, most of whom were senior citizens, using “Voice over Internet Protocol,” a method of making calls over the Internet that manipulates caller identification devices. This way, the defendants could make it appear that their calls originated in the U.S., not Costa Rica. They also allegedly created false and misleading publicly posted advertisements.

Investors were promised a “tenfold return on their investments.” The defendants allegedly told victims that Niyato was on the verge of an initial public offering and its $0.50 per share price would soon rise to $5.00 per share. Investors were told that more seed money was needed to build more plants and bring in more workers. Prosecutors allege that none of this was the case and the defendants never had any intention of making an IPO or investing the funds in new facilities.

Once a victim agreed to invest with the company, Broyles, Sierp, Lewis, Fleming, Duke, Saccomanno and Swerdlen allegedly had them mail checks to Niyato's Charlotte office or wire money directly to the company's J.P. Morgan Chase bank account, which was controlled by Robert Stencil. Robert and Ludmilda Stencil then allegedly kept half the money for themselves and distributed the other half to whichever co-conspirator made that sale. The Stencils apparently did not even try to hide their personal use of investors' funds, often just wiring it directly to their personal accounts. Sierp, who ran the call center in Costa Rica, would allegedly have Stencil transfer her portion to a SunTrust bank account and withdraw it as cash from ATMs.

The scheme allegedly cost 140 U.S. citizens and businesses $2.5 million in loses. For their roles in the scheme, Ludmilda Stencil, Lewis, Fleming, Duke, Sacccomanno, and Swerdlen are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, 14 counts of mail fraud and 14 counts of wire fraud. All have been arrested except for Duke, who remains a fugitive.

Robert Stencil, Broyles, and Sierp were each charged in August with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud and eight counts of wire fraud. In addition, Stencil and Broyles were charged with two counts of money laundering and Sierp was charged with four counts of international money laundering.

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In the Courts and Business Crimes Hotline were written by Dennis Mahoney, an associate at Mayer Brown, Washington, DC.

NORTH CAROLINA

Nine Individuals Now Indicted for $2.5 Million Investment Fraud Scheme

On April 27, a Western District of North Carolina grand jury indicted six individuals in connection with a high-yield investment scheme that allegedly bilked $2.5 million from investors. Ludmilda O. Stencil, 46, of Charlotte, NC; Martin Delainie Lewis, 50, of Frisco, TX; Nicholas Fleming, 63, of Northridge, CA; Michael Allen Duke, 48, of Richardson, TX; Paula Sacccomanno, 59, and Dennis Swerdlen, 61, both of Boca Raton, FL, were indicted on various counts of mail and wire fraud. These six defendants join three others: Robert Leslie Stencil, 59, of Charlotte, NC; Daniel Thomas Broyles, Sr., 59, of Beverly Hills, CA; and Kristian Francis Sierp, 45, of Costa Rica, who were all indicted last August for crimes related to the same scheme.

The alleged conspiracy revolved around Niyato Industries, Inc., a company registered in Nevada, but owned and operated by Robert Stencil out of Charlotte. All nine defendants were allegedly involved in sales pitches and publications that marketed Niyato as a pioneering manufacturer of compressed natural gas automobiles. Federal prosecutors claim the company was nothing but a front to bilk investors.

The indictment claims that since January 2012, Broyles, Sierp, Lewis, Fleming, Duke, Saccomanno and Swerdlen used “high-pressure” sales tactics and false representations to induce investors to mail and wire funds to Robert and Ludmilda Stencil.

Federal prosecutors allege that the defendants told investors that Niyato “had a headquarters in Charlotte, and at least one operational facility that manufactured electric vehicles and [had already] sold 2,700 such vehicles.” They also allegedly claimed the company possessed patented technology and proprietary hardware and had valuable contracts to produce more vehicles and establish 5,000 natural gas pumps across the continental U.S. Prosecutors allege the defendants even misrepresented the company's leadership, claiming Niyato had “high-profile executives” and employed a former manager of Toyota Motor Corporation as its Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer.

The defendants allegedly made these false representations by telephone and email, working out of a telemarketing call center owned by Sierp in Costa Rica. Prosecutors claim the defendants cold-called victims, most of whom were senior citizens, using “Voice over Internet Protocol,” a method of making calls over the Internet that manipulates caller identification devices. This way, the defendants could make it appear that their calls originated in the U.S., not Costa Rica. They also allegedly created false and misleading publicly posted advertisements.

Investors were promised a “tenfold return on their investments.” The defendants allegedly told victims that Niyato was on the verge of an initial public offering and its $0.50 per share price would soon rise to $5.00 per share. Investors were told that more seed money was needed to build more plants and bring in more workers. Prosecutors allege that none of this was the case and the defendants never had any intention of making an IPO or investing the funds in new facilities.

Once a victim agreed to invest with the company, Broyles, Sierp, Lewis, Fleming, Duke, Saccomanno and Swerdlen allegedly had them mail checks to Niyato's Charlotte office or wire money directly to the company's J.P. Morgan Chase bank account, which was controlled by Robert Stencil. Robert and Ludmilda Stencil then allegedly kept half the money for themselves and distributed the other half to whichever co-conspirator made that sale. The Stencils apparently did not even try to hide their personal use of investors' funds, often just wiring it directly to their personal accounts. Sierp, who ran the call center in Costa Rica, would allegedly have Stencil transfer her portion to a SunTrust bank account and withdraw it as cash from ATMs.

The scheme allegedly cost 140 U.S. citizens and businesses $2.5 million in loses. For their roles in the scheme, Ludmilda Stencil, Lewis, Fleming, Duke, Sacccomanno, and Swerdlen are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, 14 counts of mail fraud and 14 counts of wire fraud. All have been arrested except for Duke, who remains a fugitive.

Robert Stencil, Broyles, and Sierp were each charged in August with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud and eight counts of wire fraud. In addition, Stencil and Broyles were charged with two counts of money laundering and Sierp was charged with four counts of international money laundering.

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In the Courts and Business Crimes Hotline were written by Dennis Mahoney, an associate at Mayer Brown, Washington, DC.