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Arrested on allegations of fraud in the recovery scheme is Investview CEO Joseph Cammarata. Cammarata and two other co-conspirators are also the subject of civil lawsuits brought by the SEC.
In 2019, Investview’s new CEO, Joseph Cammarata, was sworn in. On November 4th, he was taken into custody in Florida. ‘On accusations of conspiracy to commit multiple counts of fraud in connection with a securities fraud claims scheme,’ the DOJ announced that Cammarata, Erik Cohen, and David Punturieri had been indicted in the beginning of November.
Alpha Plus Recovery was the front for the “securities fraud claims scheme,” also known as a recovery scam. Alpha Plus Recovery was on the air from January 2014 to January 2021. Alpha Plus Recovery, in contrast to the recovery scams we often see in the MLM industry (promises of returns after payment), targeted civil cases brought against firms deemed to have breached securities law.
Following an agreement with the offending business; For practical reasons, settlements involving large numbers of damaged investors often involve significant sums of money. There are enormous sums of money to be split among a big number of investors even after legal costs and expenses have been paid.
The formulas laid down in settlement agreements determine who gets what. A court-approved third-party claims administrator is responsible for this process, which includes verifying claims made by victims.
Cammarata’s indictment, which was previously sealed; Clients who claimed to be entitled to settlements from securities class action and SEC enforcement action settlements were represented by Alpha Plus, a claims aggregator. There were two crucial elements that had to be proven by all claimants, including those represented by claims aggregators like Alpha Plus, in order to receive a settlement award. To begin, claimants had to show that they had purchased shares of the underlying security during the time frame specified in the court-approved settlement agreement that ended the securities class action case…
Second, plaintiffs had to demonstrate that their securities purchases had caused them harm. This scam involved Alpha Plus submitting false claim information to several claims administrators. David Punturieri, Erik Cohen, and Joseph Cammarata, among others… False claims were made in securities class action and SEC enforcement action settlements by creating what appeared to be independent entities, but were in fact owned or controlled by the defendants. False claims were made on behalf of these fake Alpha Plus clients, who claimed to be Alpha Plus clients.
Cammarata, Cohen, and Punturieri are all named in the indictment (quoted verbatim) created fictitious brokerage documents purporting to show purchases and sales of securities subject to class action and SEC enforcement action settlements; provided fictitious brokerage documents to claim administrators in order to materially mislead claims administrators about securities trading that had been purportedly done by supposed Alpha Plus clients.
The Alpha Plus recovery scheme netted Cammarata, Cohen, and Punturieri over $40 million between 2014 and 2021. One conspiracy count was included in their October 28th indictment, along with a request for forfeiture.
Cammarata was issued a bench warrant on the same day as the indictment was filed, originally sealed, according to the Alpha Plus case docket at the time of publishing. On November 4, Cammarata was taken into custody. Uncertainty surrounds Cohen and Punturieri’s futures.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a press release on November 3rd advising; Each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in jail if found guilty. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began a series of civil fraud investigations on November 3rd. AlphaPlus Portfolio Recovery Group, Joseph Cammarata, Erik Cohen, David Punturieri, and Alpha Plus Recovery are all named as defendants in the SEC’s lawsuit.
According to the SEC’s allegations; Around $400 million was stolen from 400 distribution funds established as a result of securities class action settlements and enforcement proceedings by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Defendants were either aware or careless in their failure to recognize the illegality of their strategy. The SEC’s lawsuit details the same conduct as the sealed indictment. However, the defendants’ discovered communication provides more context. When a Distribution Fund discovered that “fabricated trading records” were being used as an excuse, they fought back. Cammarata emailed Punturieri because Punturieri had not addressed the fund’s concerns. We’d been waiting a week for a response from the administration, and I woke up thinking about JAIL. Cammarata emailed Punturieri after one of Alpha Plus’ bogus clients, Nimello Holding LLC, acquired money through a fraudulent claim. It’s not too shabby…
The numbers may have been a little too conservative.
It is also revealed in the SEC’s complaint what Cammarata and his alleged co-defendants spent their ill-gotten gains on; In order to hide the money, they earned from bogus claims, the Individual Defendants set up a network of accounts. Personal costs, such as jewelry, home renovations, watercraft, and other real properties, such as Cammarata’s personal Caribbean island, were paid for by the Individual Defendants using the stolen assets.
The defendant’s assets were temporarily frozen by an order issued by the SEC on November 4th. Joseph and Nina Cammarata’s “estranged spouse” Nina Cammarata’s purported joint assets were included in the freeze. An intervention motion was filed on November 7 by Nina because she claims she was unaware of Joseph’s fraudulent actions.
Nina filed for divorce against Mr. Cammarata in New Jersey in August 2019 and served the lawsuit in July 2020 following a period of reconciliation. The dissolution of the marriage is still pending. “Sandy Cay” is a Bahamas island owned by the Cammaratas, along with two other properties in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and one in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey.
Nina’s principal abode is the Monmouth Beach house. It has a mortgage that requires $5,000 a month in payments to keep it afloat. Both during and after their marriage, Mr. Cammarata footed the bill for all expenses related to the other properties. It’s possible that Nina, as a co-owner of these houses, is jointly liable for these expenses, but she has no idea what they are or how they were paid. Without rapid access to the Joint Account, she may be injured and the Properties may be subjected to a variety of negative legal actions, including liens and foreclosure for non-payment of a mortgage, taxes and HOA fees, if she does not have fast access.
“A stipulated intervention and asset carve out” deal had been struck with Nina, according to a notice filed by the SEC on November 19. The granted TRO was extended to January 25th, 2022, following a ruling made on December 3rd. Investview, on the other hand, quickly retreated after learning of Cammarata’s imprisonment.
Announcing “interim management changes” the day after Cammarata’s arrest, Investview made the announcement on November 5, 2005. The CEO of Investview, Joseph Cammarata, and some of his business acquaintances have lately been charged with civil and criminal offenses, according to media reports. To ensure a thorough internal inquiry, Investview immediately removed Mr. Cammarata from his position and placed him on administrative leave while the company worked with independent legal counsel to investigate these allegations.
Investview was fully unaware of, and had no involvement in, any of these claimed legal actions attributed to Mr. Cammarata. Mr. Cammarata’s involvement with Investview began in December of 2019, to the best of the Company’s knowledge. This is a temporary position for James R. Bell, the interim CEO of Investview, because of the current conditions.
As a director of Investview since April 2020, Mr. Bell has been essential in overseeing the recovery of the company’s operations to profitability. It’s important to point you that Cammarata’s recovery fraud charges extend to his time at Investview.
A complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) details the most recent case of Alpha Plus fraud, which occurred on December 15th, 2020. The predicted Alpha Plus fraud range is based on a communication exchange that is expected to last through January 2021.
In any event, Cammarata had served as CEO of Investview for a year at the time. The SEC has filed a complaint alleging a slew of Alpha Plus frauds between now and the year 2020.
Investview’s claim of “operational return to profitability” is also worth mentioning. With Investview’s ongoing securities fraud, Kuvera Global and now iGenius, this is a perfect fit.
Investview has committed and continues to perpetrate securities fraud under the direction of Joseph Cammarata, on the pretext that they do not believe bitcoin is regulated. Investview’s social media outlets provide evidence of this point of view. The New York Post’s Charles Gasparino, for example, retweeted Investview on August 11th: “Unregulatable” crypto trading markets are a waste of SEC resources, according to Gasparino. It doesn’t matter if bitcoin is regulated or not when it comes to Investview’s securities fraud perpetrated through iGlobal. IGenius’ automated trading bot, iGenius, is at the center of a securities fraud investigation.
Securities fraud conducted through the use of cryptocurrency is not exempt from US securities laws. It all started with a $150,000 CFTC fraud settlement in 2018 for Investview. It was renamed Kuvera Global as a result of the controversy. Investview relaunched Kuvera Global as iGenius after suffering investor losses as a result of multiple Kuvera Global offers. On the best of all possible worlds an investigation into Investview’s fraudulent NDAU token securities fraud would begin with Joseph Cammarata’s arrest and subsequent extradition to the United States.
Outside of Cammarata’s leadership of both enterprises, there is no doubt Alpha Plus Recover was not an MLM organization. The SEC’s actions against Investview and iGenius may result in Cammarata’s cases being brought up.
I won’t be covering Cammarata’s case extensively. We will, however, continue to keep you informed of any noteworthy developments for the sake of documentation.
