REMINDER: Fridays with Fernandez: Ranked Choice Voting

 

Just wanted to make sure you saw our invite for tonight's Ranked Choice Voting event at 6 PM! To register for the zoom, you can sign up here: http://bit.ly/NFRCV2521 Feel free to respond to this email with any questions. Hope to see you this evening! - Team Fernandez Hi all, There's a new way to vote in NYC! Join us tomorrow for Fridays with Fernandez to learn about Ranked Choice Voting -- how it works, what does it mean for candidates, and how can we empower our communities and strengthen their voices! To register, please sign up here: http://bit.ly/NFRCV2521 We look forward to seeing you there! Best, Team Fernandez

Is She Saying 'No I didn't Lie about What Happen to me at the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021' - No - AOC is Asking For Money

 

This is exactly what Alexandria predicted would happen in response to sharing her story about the events of January 6.

It happens all too often in the aftermath of trauma or abuse when we come forward and tell our stories.

Right-wing media and politicians didn’t waste a minute misrepresenting the facts and accusing Alexandria of ‘overreacting’ or ‘exaggerating’. It’s unacceptable, and yet not at all surprising.

If you have Alexandria’s back, please chip in (DELETED) to help us fight back against these attacks and show the GOP that their lies only fuel our determination.

Many people – survivors especially – will recognize these phrases and attempts to silence our truths to absolve others of their accountability. And there are real consequences.

How many veterans, Capitol Police officers, and other survivors are watching and will stay quiet or not get the care they need for fear that their voices will be denied or minimized?

But we will not be silenced. We’re fed up and their attempts to discredit Alexandria and her experience won’t work.

Together we can raise a ton of grassroots donations today and let Alexandria know we are here for her.

We see you.

–Team AOC

So Where were you, and did you make up the story AOC?

Founder Of $90 Million Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund Charged With Securities Fraud And Pleads Guilty In Federal Court

 

Stefan He Qin Stole and Dissipated Nearly All the Assets of His $90 Million Flagship Hedge Fund and Attempted to Steal Millions of Dollars from a Secondary Fund to Pay Back Investors

 Audrey Strauss, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced that STEFAN HE QIN, the founder of the Virgil Sigma Fund LP (“Virgil Sigma”) and the VQR Multistrategy Fund LP (“VQR”), a pair of cryptocurrency hedge funds in New York, New York, with over $100 million in investments, was charged with one count of securities fraud and pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court.  For years, QIN stole investor money from Virgil Sigma and, in December 2020, QIN tried to steal investor money from VQR to pay back his investors in Virgil Sigma.  QIN pled guilty today before United States District Judge Valerie Caproni.           

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “Stefan He Qin drained almost all of the assets from the $90 million cryptocurrency fund he owned, stealing investors’ money, spending it on indulgences and speculative personal investments, and lying to investors about the performance of the fund and what he had done with their money.  Then, as he further admitted today, Qin attempted to steal money from another fund he controlled to meet redemption demands of the defrauded investors in the former fund.  The whole house of cards has been revealed, and Qin now awaits sentencing for his brazen thievery.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh said:  “Virgil Sigma and VQR, two multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency investment funds, were revealed to be slush funds for Qin to live his extravagant lifestyle.  Qin orchestrated this reprehensible criminal scheme for many years, making misrepresentations and false promises that coaxed investors into pouring millions of dollars into fraudulent cryptocurrency firms, all the while stealing the hard-earned money of his investors.  Furthermore, Qin mastered the art of trickery by representing these firms as profitable investment strategies so more victims fell to his tactics and were defrauded of nearly $100 million.  The HSI New York El Dorado Task Force, with our incredible law enforcement partnerships, are committed to aggressively pursue fraud in all forms, regardless of how elaborate and profitable these schemes appear.  In today’s technological world, there are increasingly more opportunities for fraudsters to take advantage of people, and with Qin pleading guilty to his deceitful acts, HSI and our partners remind those who attempt to defraud victims in any manner, your fraud will be uncovered and you will be brought to justice.”

According to the Information and statements made in open court:

Background           

STEFAN HE QIN is a 24-year-old Australian national.  Between 2017 through 2020, QIN owned and controlled two cryptocurrency investment funds, Virgil Sigma and VQR, both of which were located in New York, New York.  Since its creation, Virgil Sigma purported to employ a strategy to earn profits from arbitrage opportunities in the cryptocurrency market, specifically, by using a trading algorithm to take advantage of price differences for a number of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and others, in approximately 40 different exchanges around the world, including three exchanges located in the United States.  This strategy was touted by QIN to the investing public as “market-neutral,” meaning the fund was not exposed to any risk from the price of cryptocurrency moving up or down and therefore provided a relatively safe and liquid investment.  QIN exercised day-to-day control over Virgil Sigma and was responsible for tracking the fund’s balances at different trading exchanges, designing the algorithms to implement arbitrage trading, and preparing monthly investor statements.  QIN also regularly participated in calls with Virgil Sigma investors and other forms of public communication where he touted the growth and success of Virgil Sigma.  Until recently, Virgil Sigma purported to have over $90 million under management from dozens of investors, including many in the United States.  According to its public marketing materials, Virgil Sigma has been profitable in every month from August 2016 to the present, with the sole exception of March 2017.

In or about February 2020, QIN founded VQR.  VQR employed a variety of trading strategies and was poised to make or lose money based on the fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrency and was not market neutral.  QIN was the sole owner of VQR’s general partner, but was not involved in VQR’s day-to-day operations.  Instead, VQR had its own trading staff, including a head trader (the “Head Trader”) and other investment professionals.  Until recently, VQR had at least approximately $24 million under management from investors. 

Qin’s Scheme to Steal Assets from Virgil Sigma

Since 2017, QIN engaged in a scheme to steal assets from Virgil Sigma and defraud its investors.  Rather than investing the fund’s assets in a cryptocurrency arbitrage trading strategy as advertised, QIN embezzled investor capital from Virgil Sigma and used the funds for purposes other than the purported arbitrage trading strategy, including: (a) using a substantial portion of investor capital stolen from Virgil Sigma to pay for personal expenses such as food, services, and rent for a penthouse apartment in New York, New York; (b) using a substantial portion of investor capital from Virgil Sigma to make personal, often illiquid, investments in other entities that had nothing to do with cryptocurrencies (for example, in or about October 2018, QIN invested hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from Virgil Sigma in a real estate investment); and (c) using a substantial portion of investor capital from Virgil Sigma to invest in crypto-assets that had nothing to do with the fund’s stated arbitrage strategy (or example, in or about 2018, QIN invested funds from Virgil Sigma in certain initial coin offerings, a speculative form of investing in new issues of cryptocurrency).  As a result of these and other fraudulent activities, QIN dissipated nearly all of the investor capital in Virgil Sigma.

In the course of stealing assets from Virgil Sigma, QIN regularly lied to the fund’s investors about the value, location, and status of their investment capital.  These lies included an array of investor and public communications, including:

(a) QIN prepared and disseminated monthly statements to investors purporting to record the value of their holdings in Virgil Sigma.  The amounts recorded in these statements did not accurately reflect the results of cryptocurrency trading.  Instead, the amounts were made up by QIN and did not disclose the dissipation of assets by QIN.

(b) QIN also periodically prepared marketing materials for the investing public, including summary reports known as “tear sheets” that fraudulently reported that Virgil Sigma was earning remarkable profits, often with double-digit returns in a single month, month after month.  For example, in or about February and in or about April 2017, QIN falsely reported that Virgil Sigma had earned 48.7% and 35.5% returns, respectively.

(c) On an annual basis, QIN prepared spreadsheets that purported to show Virgil Sigma’s balances at the approximately 40 exchanges where Virgil Sigma purportedly traded in order to prepare tax forms for the fund’s investors, also known as schedule K-1s.  As QIN well knew, however, these spreadsheets and the resulting schedule K-1s were false and substantially overstated Virgil Sigma’s balances and trading activity on the exchanges. 

As a result of QIN’s lies about the activity and success of Virgil Sigma in these and other communications, QIN was able to steadily attract new capital to Virgil Sigma thereby (a) ensuring that he was able to pay off investors’ redemption requests, and (b) projecting to the public the appearance of continued growth.  For example, after QIN and the purported success of his fund were profiled in the Wall Street Journal in or about February 2018, Virgil Sigma experienced substantial growth as new investors flocked to the fund.

Qin Attempts to Steal Assets from VQR to Pay Virgil Sigma Investors

In the summer of 2020, QIN was having difficulty meeting redemption requests from investors in Virgil Sigma.  In order to access funds to make those redemptions, and in order to conceal his fraudulent activities described above, QIN attempted to steal investor capital from VQR to pay redemptions to Virgil Sigma investors.  After a few Virgil Sigma investors requested redemptions that Virgil Sigma could not pay, QIN convinced those investors that rather than redeem the funds outright, the investors would agree to have the funds withdrawn from Virgil Sigma and transferred into an investment in VQR.  After months passed and no funds were transferred to VQR, QIN falsely told these investors that he had requested the transfer of funds from Virgil Sigma, but that the transfer was delayed because of an intermediary bank.  QIN showed some of these investors wire transfer requests in order to bolster the impression that QIN was in fact trying to transfer the funds from Virgil Sigma to VQR.  Virgil Sigma’s bank could not, however, effectuate these wire transfers because QIN had dissipated all of Virgil Sigma’s assets.

In or about December 2020, faced with additional redemption requests that he could not meet, QIN demanded that the Head Trader at VQR wind down all trading positions at VQR and transfer a portion of the funds to QIN so that QIN could use that money to pay off these redemptions to Virgil Sigma investors.  QIN issued the demand even though the Head Trader advised QIN that closing out VQR’s then-current trading positions, rather than holding those positions in accordance with VQR’s directional trading strategy, would result in losses to VQR’s investors.  In the course of those conversations, QIN threatened that if the Head Trader did not sufficiently expedite that process, QIN, as the sole owner of VQR’s general partner, would need to take over control of all of VQR’s accounts in order to access the funds.  At QIN’s direction, the Head Trader accordingly closed out VQR’s positions and turned over access to VQR’s trading accounts to QIN.  QIN subsequently attempted to take control of VQR’s assets in order to enable QIN to meet certain Virgil Sigma investor redemption requests.

QIN, 24, pled guilty to one count of securities fraud.  This charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 20, 2021.

Ms. Strauss praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations.  She further thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its cooperation and assistance in this investigation.   

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Tracer is in charge of the prosecution.

Attorney General James Sues Private Equity Fund Manager for Ponzi-Like Investment Scheme that Defrauded Investors Out of More Than $700 Million

 

Defendants Diverted Investor Monies to Pay Off Other Investors, 

Subsidize Luxury Travel and Purchase Ferrari

New York Investors Alone Invested More Than $150 Million

 New York Attorney General Letitia James  filed a lawsuit against a New York private equity fund manager and five co-defendants for defrauding investors across the country out of more than $700 million through a Ponzi-like scheme that offered to pay investors generous monthly distributions they could never deliver. The suit — filed against New York City based investment advisor GPB Capital Holdings, LLC; two related entities involved in marketing the funds, Ascendant Capital and Ascendant Alternative Strategies; and three individuals, David Gentile, Jeffry Schneider, and Jeffrey Lash — charges the defendants with devising and executing a fraudulent scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of investors without ever delivering a profit to those who invested in the funds. Thousands of investors across the nation invested more than $1.8 billion in GPB funds, including more than 1,400 New Yorkers who invested more than $150 million, on promises of profits on private equity investments in portfolio companies that included automotive dealerships and waste management companies.

“Investors put in more than $1.8 billion into GPB funds but were left without a single cent of profit,” said Attorney General James. “GPB and its operators fleeced New Yorkers and investors around the country while subsidizing their own lavish lifestyles, which is why we are filing this lawsuit and fighting to hold these bad actors accountable. We won’t let Wall Street fat cats get away with breaking the rules, as they pilfer New Yorker’s wallets in the meantime.”

Today’s lawsuit — filed in New York County Supreme Court — alleges that the defendants were aware of the shortfalls in portfolio company cash flows, but nevertheless fraudulently assured investors that distributions being paid were “fully covered” by the cash flow from portfolio company operations. In fact, GPB Capital offered investors an eight percent annual return on their investments. In reality, however, a Ponzi-like scheme was utilized where the distributions to existing investors were paid, at least in part, by monies received by new investors.

Attorney General James also alleges in the complaint, that, in furtherance of this scheme, GPB Capital and the other defendants created back-dated performance guarantees and falsified financial statements to generate fictitious income — all in an effort to cover up their shortfalls. Further, the complaint charges the defendants with failing to disclose numerous conflicted transactions involving related parties, as well as misappropriations of fund assets, all of which served to benefit the defendants. Investor funds were spent to subsidize private planes and luxury travel for the three defendants, direct payments totaling millions of dollars into personal bank accounts, and payments to family members. Defendant Gentile even purchased a Ferrari sports car with investor funds.

Attorney General James specifically charges GPB Capital and the five additional defendants with violating the Martin Act and New York Executive Law § 63(12), as well as breaching fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty laws. Attorney General James seeks restitution for investors of more than $700 million defrauded, as well as disgorgement. Additionally, Attorney General James seeks to stop the defendants from further violations of New York law, a permanent injunction of defendants Schneider and Gentile from selling or offering for sale securities within New York state, and other equitable relief to redress the defendants’ violations of New York law, as well as costs and fees incurred by New York state.

This matter was investigated in parallel with multiple state securities regulators, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). Joining New York in filing separate but simultaneous actions against GPB Capital and other defendants are the states of Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and South Carolina, as well as the SEC. The EDNY unsealed indictments against Gentile, Schneider, and Lash this morning on related charges.

The Office of the New York Attorney General wishes to thank the states for their significant contributions to the investigation, as well as the SEC and the EDNY for their cooperation in this matter.

Senator Alessandra Biaggi Weekly Newsletter

 

Dear Community,

This week marks the start of Black History Month, a month-long celebration each February that has been observed nationwide since 1976. Every year, Black History Month serves as an important opportunity to celebrate and honor the experiences, work, and struggle of Black communities. It is a time to celebrate Black joy and Black excellence, and to reflect upon the history of Black America –– and a time for all of us, especially white people, to acknowledge our country’s systemic oppression of and violence against Black communities, and prioritize the necessary work to dismantle these systems. 

This month, we will continue to honor and uplift the work that is being done in New York and across the nation to address racial injustice, and remind our communities that Black voices and lives matter today and every day. The important work of dismantling systems of white supremacy and creating an anti-racist society must be a constant pursuit, and we will use this month to futher amplify the voices leading the movement for racial justice and lend our support.

Throughout February I am highlighting on social media the work of the Black-owned businesses, Black artists, and Black community members that shape District 34. This week we are highlighting The Tea Experience and owner Leslie Allicks, artist and gallery owner Mark West of the Mark West Arts Center, and Shamekia Gordon of the Hunts Point Community Partnership (click their names to see our full social media spotlight and read their stories). 

I also encourage you to utilize important resources like Eat Okra or the Intentionally Black Directory released by the Hunts Point Community Partnership, to support Black-owned businesses in our community every day. 

With Gratitude,

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi

SENATOR RIVERA, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, COMMUNITY LEADERS HOLD VIRTUAL FORUM ON VACCINE SAFETY

 

 In an effort to mitigate misinformation and concerns over the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations and the importance of ensuring New York City families are up to date on all FDA approved vaccines, State Senator Gustavo Rivera and members of the health care and social justice community hosted an online forum Thursday evening to answer questions and present the latest vaccine information to the community.

Speakers provided updates on the latest developments on the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of vaccine access and its equitable distribution to local communities. The event also included three doctors representing community vaccine providers in the Bronx.

“Our communities in the Bronx have been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet many Bronx residents still feel understandably hesitant about trusting the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “It's up to us as community leaders to share facts, dispel misconceptions, and encourage everyone to make the best decision for their families, their neighborhoods, and ultimately our state. For me, that's getting vaccinated when I become eligible.”

Supporting the event was Let’s Get Immunized NY, a diverse group of organizations from across the state who have come together to promote science and evidence-based information and policy related to the importance and safety of vaccines for all New Yorkers. More than 200 people attended via Zoom and Facebook Live.

“Vaccination is important and necessary for our community and gives us the best hope of getting our lives and economy back to normal,” said Bethsy Morales-Reid, senior director of health initiatives at the Hispanic Federation. “Get vaccinated—and share your story—tell your friends and family to also get vaccinated.”

“COVID-19 is an equal opportunity infector, but it has impacted more brown and black

people” said Lorraine Braithwaite-Harte, Health Chair, NAACP NYS Conference. “There are historical reasons why our communities distrust the medical establishment, but the COVID-19 vaccine is a preventable measure—not an experiment—and is available to people of every color all across the world. We are all in this together and that means getting vaccinated for your health and the health of the community.”

Lets Get Immunized NY has over 40 diverse members including social justice organizations, educational and parent-focused groups, business advocates, agriculture and health care provider and public health organizations. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The Virtual Bronx Parks Speak Up February 27th 2021

 

The Bronx Parks Speak Up

The Bronx Parks Speak Up is an annual community networking conference for park and environmental stakeholders. Organized by the Bronx Coalition for Parks and Green Spaces (BCPGS), this day-long event draws over 250 Bronx residents, elected officials and agency personnel. It gives its attendees the chance to learn about government and non-government resources and participate in face-to-face discussions with city and local elected and appointed officials.

Please visit www.bronxspeakup.org for more info, to take our Bronx Parks Priority survey, sign up for a virtual table or host a workshop.

330 Days and Counting

 

330 days to go for the de Blasio administration.