Fraudster Given 22 Years for Ripping Off Charitable Donors

Samuel or Mouli Cohen will serve 22 years after being found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering.  Cohen received a sentencing enhancement for misrepresenting he was acting on behalf of a charity.

Cohen pretended Microsoft would soon acquire a company he co-founded named Ecast and that he was interested in donating $60 million to charity.  He offered the Vanguard Public Foundation shares in his company, promising half of profits would go to charity. 

In reality, no deal had been made with Microsoft and Ecast had fired Cohen.  Cohen and Vanguard’s former president, Hari Dillon, then milked $31 million from individuals associated from Vanguard.  Dillon was sentenced to 40 months after testifying against Cohen.

See Lorraine Bailey, Extra-Long Sentence for Cheating the Charitable, Courthouse News Service, Aug. 23, 2013.