Two months out from his scheduled trial, Richard J. Anzalone has plead guilty to one Infinity2Global Ponzi fraud charge.
Anzalone is the first of seven criminal defendants to take a guilty plea.
Following an indictment in 2017 and then literally years of delays, Anzalone was scheduled to face trial on July 12th, 2022.
On May 17th Anzalone filed a plea agreement, pleading guilty to one count of fraud. Anzalone’s Infinity2Global indictment lists multiple counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.
Infinity2Global was a casino themed Ponzi scheme launched by Richard Maike in 2013.
Anzalone’s guilty plea sees him agree
- he committed securities fraud;
- he “deliberately closed his eyes to what was obvious”; and
- that he knew Infinity2Global was a pyramid scheme.
Through the course of the conspiracy, defendant Anzalone received, through a company or companies formed with co-defendant Faraday Hosseinipour, approximately $941,913 in commissions and bonuses for the sale of various I2G Earning Ranks, including Emperor positions.
Anzalone is facing a maximum prison sentence of five years, a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
In exchange for pleading guilty, the DOJ has agreed to
- drop all other counts against Anzalone;
- recommend he receive “a sentence at the lowest end of the applicable guideline range”, extended down another three levels below what Anzalone might otherwise receive; and
- lock in Anzalone’s ill-gotten gains at $941,913.
Anzalone signed his plea agreement on April 29th, 2022.
A supplemental plea agreement was filed under seal on May 17th. I’m unable to access the filing so I don’t know what other information it might contain, pertaining to Anzalone’s criminal case.
The court accepted Anzalone’s plea agreement on May 18th. Sentencing has been scheduled for August 9th.
The remaining five Infinity 2 Global defendants, owner Richard Maike and promoters Doyce Barnes, Faraday Hosseinipour, Dennis Dvorin and Jason L. Syn, are still scheduled to face trial in July.
Update 8th December 2022 – The case against Richard Anzalone has been dropped following his death in Hawaii.