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TALLAHASSEE - A suspended Kissimmee attorney has been sentenced to five years in prison for his participation in an elaborate scheme to defraud investors. Stanley Craig Wakefield must also pay victims of his scam more than $220,000 in restitution. The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Wakefield, 56, incorporated a business called First American Tax Lien Fund. Investors were solicited from all over the country, telling them they would receive a "guaranteed" return of 10 to12% on their investments. Wakefield and several accomplices collected more than $376,000 from at least 10 investors, but the victims never received their promised returns.
Victims were advised that the funds were secure and backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, even though bank records from the investment account clearly indicated the money was not backed by either corporation. During the period he was conducting the investment scam, Wakefield's Florida Bar license was suspended in January 2002 for trust account violations.
Wakefield pled guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of securities and investment fraud earlier this week. Two of Wakefield's co-defendants, Hasmukh D. Patel and Jignesh Gandhi, have already entered guilty pleas and paid restitution of $150,000. A third co-defendant, Virbala Patel, is currently at large. The case was investigated by the Department of Financial Services.
A copy of the criminal information filed against Wakefield is available at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-6PAJPC/$file/Wakefield_information.pdf 4-28-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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