Ex-CCO sentenced to 6-plus years in prison for role in Ponzi scheme
By 
Adrianne Appel2022-10-12T19:50:00
The former chief compliance officer and comptroller at Executive Compensation Planners (ECP), a New York-based investment adviser and financial planning firm, was sentenced Tuesday to more than six years in prison for her role in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded clients of more than $11 million.
Vania May Bell pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for helping her father, Hector May, the former president of ECP, with executing the scheme. She was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to pay more than $8 million in restitution and forfeit $589,942.
May pleaded guilty in December 2018 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and investment adviser fraud and was sentenced in July 2019 to serve 13 years in prison.
Related articles
-
Article
Ex-chief compliance officer pleads guilty in Ponzi scheme
Vania May Bell, the former chief compliance officer and controller of Executive Compensation Planners, pleaded guilty for participating in a Ponzi scheme with her father that defrauded clients out of more than $11 million.
-
News BriefFHFA chief orders Fannie and Freddie to consider crypto assets in mortgage assessments
In another sign of President Donald Trump’s focus on cryptocurrency, the head of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create proposals to consider crypto assets for a single-family home mortgage.
-
News BriefFinCEN bars three Mexican financial institutions for aiding cartels in fentanyl trade
Three Mexican financial institutions will be barred from transacting with U.S.-based banks after a U.S. Treasury agency determined that the institutions allowed their networks to aid the illegal fentanyl trade of Mexican criminal organizations.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefJudge reinstates fired CPSC commissioners in latest battle over government cuts
In May, three commissioners for the Consumer Product Safety Commission were abruptly fired by President Donald Trump and sued for their jobs shortly after. A federal judge has ruled that the commissioners should be reinstated, although it’s unclear whether that ruling may itself be reversed.
-
PremiumUK’s Failure to Prevent Fraud law may expose firms to unlimited fines and prosecution, says Moody’s compliance risk expert
Fraud now accounts for around 40% of all crime in the U.K., posing a major problem for banks and consumers. Ted Datta, head of industry practice for financial crime compliance at Moody’s, warns that the risk is growing fast.
-
ArticleCrypto firms brace for tighter UK oversight as FCA plots integration with financial markets
Trying to put rules in place to oversee an industry that has grown largely outside of regulation is not without serious challenges. But the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) latest consultation aims to attract industry views about how some key aspects of crypto trading should be regulated ahead of planned ...