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Vincent P. Falci, a former New Jersey fire chief, his wife, his son, and the companies he started have been ordered to repay $6.7 million they bilked from investors. Fallacy and his companies made false and misleadings statements to 182 investors, according to a release from Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman. Falci created and provided investors with annual updates that purported to show that their money had primarily been invested in tax certificates as promised, according to the release.  In actuality, most of the money raised from investors was spent elsewhere, including seven homes by Falci and his wife, Donna.  Only three percent of investors’ funds were actually invested in tax lien certificates. In addition to making false statements about how much had been invested in tax certificates, Falci promised investors a seven percent rate of return based on fake previous year results, according to the release. “To attract investors to his fraudulent scheme – many of whom were firefighters and police officers [...]

U.S. marshals arrested John Natale Michelotti of Clemmons, North Carolina for a fraud that bilked victims of over $200,000. Michelotti is charged with obtaining property by false pretense and two counts of securities fraud, according to the U.S. Marshals Service in a press release. The North Carolina Secretary of State's office took out warrants against Michelotti in Surry and Davidson counties in March. The agency alleges that between February 2006 and March 2010, Michelotti used a company called White Investments to entice people into investing with him. One victim invested $25,000. Another victim lost $170,000 as part of a real estate scam. The Secretary of State believes Michelotti used the money from his fake companies to start a window and door company in Greensboro. The U.S. Marshals Joint Fugitive Task Force searched for Michelotti for months until they saw him in a car in Greensboro. They arrested him without incident. If you or someone you know has lost money as a [...]