Atlanta Businessman Indicted for Alleged Investment Fraud Schemes

A pair of businessmen, including one who hails from Atlanta, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 21 on charges related to two schemes which allegedly fleeced investors and stockholders out of millions of dollars.

William A. Goldstein, 51, of Atlanta, and Marc E. Bercoon, 54, of Dunwoody, face charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering for allegedly carrying out two “pump and dump” schemes with a publicly-traded stock and baiting investors into investing into a non-existent search engine startup.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Goldstein and Bercoon conspired with one another to manipulate the stock price of Medcareers Group, Inc., a publicly traded company, from July 2009 and September 2011.

In March and May of 2010, Goldstein and Bercoon allegedly pulled off two “pump and dump” schemes, whereby they artificially inflated Medcareers Group, Inc.’s stock price by issuing misleading press releases and SEC filings, while at the same time selling off their shares and hiding the profits in various nominee accounts.

In the other scheme, Goldstein and Bercoon allegedly set up a private corporation and solicited investors by claiming that the funds would go towards the development of a new online search engine. Instead of carrying out their promises, the men allegedly used the $1.5 million in investment money to subsidize their other business ventures or to make payments to themselves or family members.

Additionally, while the men claimed that every investor could buy into the company for $1 a share and that no more than 12.5 percent of investors’ money would go towards commissions, in reality some investors were allegedly given massive discounts on stock purchases without the knowledge of other investors and some brokers allegedly received commissions of up to 35 percent.

“Investment based fraud is not a victimless crime and the FBI will continue to dedicate significant resources toward identifying, investigating, and presenting for prosecution those individuals involved,“ J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said in a statement.

Goldstein and Bercoon are presumed innocent until such time as the state can prove their case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.