A convicted felon from Boca Raton was sentenced on Aug. 4 to 20 years in federal prison for orchestrating a real estate fraud scheme that raised more than $50 million from investors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez handed down a 240-month sentence to Jean Joseph, also known as “Jon,” after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud. A restitution hearing is scheduled for September 4. Janalie Camille Bingham, Joseph’s wife and accomplice, received a four-year sentence for her role in the crime.
“Jean Joseph was already serving a federal prison sentence for wire fraud when he continued directing another massive investment scheme from behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones, “He lied about the company’s assets, diverted millions of dollars into speculative trading and personal expenses, and used new investor money to pay earlier investors. This 20-year sentence delivers serious accountability for an unrepentant fraudster who repeatedly abused the trust of his victims.”
Court documents show that Joseph and Bingham formed Wells Real Estate Investment, LLC around 2017 and operated it together with Bingham as Chief Executive Officer. Starting in approximately 2019, they concealed Joseph’s involvement due to his felony conviction and pending prosecution on an unrelated wire fraud case (19-cr-20177). Despite beginning his prison term in June 2020, Joseph continued directing transactions—including those involving investor funds—while incarcerated.
Between roughly 2019 and 2024, the pair solicited investments by selling promissory notes under false pretenses that funds would be used to acquire or improve real estate holdings worth up to $450 million; however, only a small portion was spent on property while about $28 million went into speculative equities trading instead. The defendants also misrepresented commission payments—claiming none were paid while actually distributing up to $8 million—and made Ponzi-style payments totaling over $8 million using new investor funds without disclosure.
The couple used more than $2 million in investor money on personal expenses including purchasing their primary residence through a limited liability company before transferring ownership into Bingham’s name.
The FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli S. Rubin and Roger Cruz are prosecuting, with Nicole Grosnoff handling asset forfeiture matters.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida oversees an area spanning about 15,197 square miles across nine counties serving more than seven million residents with branch offices in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Fort Pierce and Key West; it operates under the Department of Justice with approximately 223 assistant attorneys among its staff, according to the official website.