Feds: Marblehead Businessman Used Dead Man's Identity in Securities FraudJon Latorella, a 47-year-old from Marblehead, charged in Federal Court Wednesday.
By Neal Simpson
A Marblehead man and his business partner have been accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme in which the two made up a fake company and stole the identity of a young man who died in the 1980s
Jon Latorella, a 47-year-old from Marblehead, and James Fields, 43, of Brookline have been indicted on a variety of charges, including securities fraud, identity theft and making false statements to auditors at their own company and to investigators at the Securities and Exchange Commission. They were charged in federal court on Wednesday, Nov. 10.
Prosecutors say Fields and Latorella used several schemes to artificially inflate reported revenues at their company, Beverly-based Locateplus Holdings Corporation, starting in about 2002.
According to the indictment, the men falsified loan documents to make it appear that a fictional entity owned Locateplus more than $1 million, made payments to Locateplus with the company's own money and made it appear the payments came from elsewhere, and "routinely" lied to auditors at their own company at the SEC.
The men have also been accused of stealing the identity of a young man, who drowned in Marblehead Harbor in 1985, to invent a fake business partner and investor in a company the men controlled.
Fields reportedly served as chief financial officer and acting chief operating officer at Locateplus.?
If convicted, the men could face up to 20 years in prison on the securities fraud charge alone. The government also plans to seek restitution for the victims of the men's alleged fraud. |
