St. Thomas, USVI - District Court Chief Judge Curtis V. Gomez today sentenced Janice D. Rey to 125 months in prison and ordered her to pay restitution to individual victims in the amount of $3,006,260 for her role in a scheme that defrauded investors of millions of dollars, announced United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe and Michael J. DePalma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Rey also was ordered to pay restitution to the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue in the amount of $550,681.31.
Rey’s co-conspirator, Devon McLean was sentenced to 70 months in prison, and also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,006,260. The court also entered a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $5.5 million against both Rey and McLean.
On April 4, 2013, a federal jury convicted Rey of one count of conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud, 43 counts of money laundering, and four counts of tax evasion under Virgin Islands law. Rey was sentenced to 60 months in prison for her conviction on the territorial tax charges, to be served concurrently with her sentence on the federal charges. On March 5, 2013, McLean pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy.
According to the evidence presented at Rey’s trial, Rey and co-conspirator Devon McLean organized Paramount Group, LLC, and opened a bank account for the partnership in Nevada. Rey opened a store front location in St. Thomas called Rey Financial, which she used to meet with potential investors. Rey made false material representations and material factual omissions to potential investors in order to induce them to invest with Paramount Group. For example, Rey told the investors that their investments were safe, that Paramount Group was a part of Haliburton, that the investors were investing in “platform investments," and that they would double their money in less than a year.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kim L. Chisholm and Everard Potter.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
