The Southern California man was found guilty of embezzling more than $2.2 million in money and property from an elderly victim.
Jamal Nathan Dawood, 54, of Burbank, was found guilty on July 31 of wire fraud and money laundering, according to the U.S. Lawyer’s Office.
The elderly victim inherited real estate and retirement savings from his deceased brother. In 2019, Dawood offered to help victims manage their inheritance and persuaded them to open a trust account to manage their funds, prosecutors said.
Without the victim’s knowledge, Dawood began transferring money from new accounts to people with personal or business relationships.
He later convinced the victim to transfer ownership of his home and the property of his deceased brother to a third-party company that was actually controlled by Dawood or people he knew.
“Dawood has mistakenly stated that the victim will retain ownership of his residence and inherited property through these companies,” court documents said.
Through this scheme, Dawood has won at least $2,202,688 in the victims’ money and property. He then used the stolen funds to purchase Lacresenka and Fontana properties.
Following the seven-day trial, Dawood was found guilty of six-count wire fraud and nine counts of money laundering.
The verdict hearing is scheduled for December 8th. Doods are held in prisons for up to 20 years for each wire fraud count and in prisons for up to 10 years for each money laundering count.
Anyone over the age of 60 who may have been a victim of financial fraud can seek help by calling the National Elders Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
“This hotline managed by the office for victims of crime, the Department of Justice has experienced professionals providing personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victims and identifying relevant next steps,” a federal official said. “Reporting will help authorities identify people who commit fraud and report certain financial losses as quickly as possible because of fraud.
Source link