00042704 The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition -- March 20, 1998
Former Prosecutor Is Implicated
In Alleged Case of Cable-TV Fraud
By MICHAEL SCHROEDER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON -- A former federal prosecutor was implicated and a
Las Vegas man pleaded guilty Thursday in connection with alleged
wireless cable-television telemarketing schemes that defrauded 3,250
investors of $35 million.
In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, federal
prosecutors charged that Jeffrey Jolcover of Las Vegas was a principal in
a series of complex schemes between 1992 and 1995. Using misleading
promises, telemarketers solicited consumers for investments of several
thousand dollars that produced little or no returns, according to the
complaint.
Most of the money was raised through bogus investments in wireless
cable-TV systems in Mobile, Ala.; Omaha, Neb.; Laredo and Beaumont,
Texas; and Madison, Wis., the complaint said.
The complaint refers to the involvement of sales agents and professionals,
including the lawyer for companies controlled by Mr. Jolcover. In a related
Atlanta wireless-cable fraud case, settled in 1995, a Securities and
Exchange Commission filing in federal court there identifies that lawyer as
John A. Field III. Mr. Field served as U.S. attorney for the Southern
District of West Virginia in the early 1970s; from 1977 to 1980, he was
enforcement chief of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Mr.
Field hasn't been charged.
Probes Into the Industry
The case is one of the first to result from state and federal investigations in
the early 1990s into fraudulent wireless-cable TV investments. Federal
prosecutor Christopher Bruno said the investigation is continuing, although
he declined to identify other targets.
The Atlanta filing identifies James D. Greenbaum of Las Vegas as a
partner of Mr. Jolcover and a principal in the alleged telemarketing fraud.
Mr. Bruno confirmed that Mr. Greenbaum was scheduled to appear in
court Thursday but didn't show up.
Mr. Jolcover's lawyer, Joseph Cronin, wouldn't comment. Mr. Jolcover
faces a possible prison term of 25 years on charges of conspiracy to
commit stock fraud and money laundering. Sentencing is scheduled for
June 15. Messrs. Greenbaum and Field couldn't be reached for comment.
In 1992, Mr. Jolcover formed Midas Media Inc. and several partnerships
to acquire Federal Communications Commission wireless cable-TV
license rights in four states. High-pressure telephone salespeople solicited
consumers to invest in the wireless operations, the complaint said.
In Omaha, Mobile and Madison, for instance, the defendants raised $34
million, the bulk of the money involved in the alleged fraud, the complaint
said. Of the $35 million total, only $5.2 million was invested in the wireless
systems and the 3,250 investors never earned a return, according to the
complaint. "More than $10 million alone was taken from older investors
who tapped their IRA accounts for the money," said Stephen Korotash, a
federal prosecutor.
Field's Role in SEC Case
Mr. Field is clearly identified as an alleged principal in the Atlanta SEC
case, which involved allegations of fraud against Messrs. Jolcover and
Greenbaum in the sale of wireless investments in Mobile and Madison.
The operations were "directed and controlled by [Messrs.] Jolcover,
Greenbaum and Field," the SEC filing said. However, Mr. Field wasn't
named as a defendant in the case.
Another defendant in the SEC case was Mr. Field's son, John A. Field IV.
The younger Mr. Field controlled a McLean, Va., partnership that had a
stake in the Madison wireless property and controlled two high-pressure
sales operations that sold interests in some of the wireless properties, the
SEC court filing said.
Messrs. Jolcover and Greenbaum and the younger Mr. Field settled that
case, agreeing to pay a total of $1.2 million in 1995, neither admitting or
denying wrongdoing.
The younger Mr. Field didn't return calls seeking comment.
Return to top of page
Copyright © 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
