ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a North Carolina man late yesterday on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for his role in orchestrating a scheme that caused over $1.4 million in losses to multiple victims.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Anthony Eric Mitchell, 52, of Charlotte, was one of the two managing principals of a company called Aura Exchange LLC (AURA).  Mitchell and his co-conspirator Armando Almirall, through AURA, promised their clients that they could help obtain funding for a host of business purposes, such as real estate transactions and television projects. Instead, Mitchell and Almirall spent large portions of their clients’ funds on personal expenses, including trips to casinos, concert tickets, stays at beach resorts, cash withdrawals and wire transfers.

In order to induce the victims to provide AURA with money, Mitchell and Almirall made a host of fraudulent misrepresentations, including representing to clients that they were guaranteed to receive their initial equity deposits back when, in fact, none of the victims ever received any money from AURA. Mitchell and Almirall claimed that AURA had offices in Zurich, London, and New York when no such offices existed. Mitchell also claimed to victims and their associates that AURA was a widely-successful global company that was backed by the assets of billionaires when, in reality, AURA had never closed a deal for a single client.

Mitchell and Almirall also maintained a website for AURA that contained a number of misrepresentations, including claims that AURA was an industry leader in a number of fields, that AURA was an international business with access to hundreds of financiers, and that AURA could turn around funding to its clients in as little as 24 hours. AURA never made any money for any of its clients, and in fact, victims of the fraud suffered losses of at least $1.6 million. 

Mitchell’s business partner and co-conspirator, Armando Almirall, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 63 months in prison in February.

Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of conviction when sentenced on Jan. 3, 2020. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Timothy M. Dunham, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamar K. Walker and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell L. Carlberg are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-101.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Florida man was sentenced today to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud for orchestrating a scheme that caused over $1.7 million in losses to multiple victims.

According to court documents, Armando Almirall, 37, of Oviedo, was one of the managing principals of a company called Aura Exchange LLC (AURA). Almirall and his co-conspirators, through AURA, promised their clients that they could help obtain funding for a host of business purposes, such as real estate transactions and television projects. Instead, Almirall and his co-conspirators spent large portions of their clients’ funds on personal expenses, cash withdrawals and wire transfers without the clients’ knowledge or consent.

In order to induce the victims to provide AURA with money, Almirall and his co-conspirators made a host of fraudulent misrepresentations, including representing to clients that AURA had an established business portfolio when no such portfolio existed. AURA also guaranteed victims that they would receive their initial equity deposits back when, in fact, none of the victims ever received any of their original investment nor any additional funding from AURA. Almirall further claimed that AURA had offices in Zurich, London, and New York when no such offices existed. Almirall also provided clients with fraudulent bank documents showing that AURA could obtain millions (and in one instance, billions) in funds for their clients.

In addition to the prison sentence, Almirall was ordered to pay over $1.77 million in restitution to the victims of the fraud scheme.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Division, FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamar K. Walker prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-392.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Florida businessman pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for orchestrating a scheme that caused over $1 million in losses to multiple victims.

According to court documents, Armando Almirall, 37, of Oviedo, was one of the managing principals of a company called Aura Exchange LLC (AURA). Almirall and his co-conspirators, through AURA, promised their clients that they could help obtain funding for a host of business purposes, such as real estate transactions and television projects. Instead, Almirall and his co-conspirators spent large portions of their clients’ funds on personal expenses, cash withdrawals and wire transfers with the clients’ knowledge or consent. In order to induce the victims to provide AURA with money, Almirall and his co-conspirators made a host of fraudulent misrepresentations, including representing to clients that they were guaranteed to receive their initial equity deposits back when, in fact, none of the victims ever received any money from AURA. Almirall claimed that AURA had offices in Zurich, London, and New York when no such offices existed. Almirall also provided clients with fraudulent bank documents showing that AURA could obtain millions (and in one instance, billions) in funds for their clients. In total, the victims suffered losses of at least $1.6 million.

Almirall pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 8, 2019. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamar K. Walker is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-392.