Different Ponzi schemes have been around for decades, if not longer, yet thousands of people are affected and lose their money to such illicit activities every year. Ponzi schemes, also infamous as investment fraud schemes, involve a fake investor luring people into investing in a business such as stock markets, real estate or other lucrative investments that usually have “guaranteed” high returns with little or no risk.
A businessman from Canada, who was reportedly impacted by such illegal activity is now seeking to recover his investment. Stephen Shefsky, the CEO and president of James Bay Resources, a Toronto-based company, is trying to recover some $3.5 million that he invested with a person that was sentenced to prison for fraud, a report released by the Las Vegas Review-Journal reveals.
The money, Shefsky reportedly loaned to David Bunevacz to finance companies marketing cannabis vape pens, as an investment. But little did the Canadian businessman know that Bunevacz was involved in a large-scale fraud that involved tens of millions of dollars. Shefsky’s investment of $3.5 million is believed to be lost to gambling at Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas.
Accusations against the gambling operator reportedly claim it failed to report significant gambling losses to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Ultimately, Shefsky seeks through legal means to subpoena the casino operator to disclose information regarding Bunevacz’s losses to gambling. Whether or not this will happen remains to be confirmed as Shefsky is trying to recover the money lost to the fake investment.
The Fake Investor Is Already Sentenced
It was back in November when the fake investor, Bunevacz, of Calabasas, was sentenced. Court documents reveal that he fraudulently raised more than $45 million from investors. Although he offered financing companies marketing cannabis vape pens, in reality, he defrauded the investors and “misappropriated the vast majority of the funds to pay for his own opulent lifestyle, including a luxurious house in Calabasas, Las Vegas trips, jewelry, designer handbags, a lavish birthday party for his daughter, and horses,” a statement from the Department of Justice reveals.
As with other similar schemes, the fake investor issued misleading financial documents to the people that loaned him their money. It was last April when Bunevacz was arrested and in July, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. Consequently, in November, he was sentenced to 210 months or 17.5 years in federal prison. Besides the prison sentence, Bunevacz was ordered to repay $35.3 million in restitution.