Trial set to begin in landmark bond fraud case
Fraud in the sale of stocks and private bonds is not uncommon, but before now, no one had been prosecuted for criminal securities fraud involving the sale of municipal bonds. That state of affairs will change dramatically when an elected official of the town of Ramapo, a suburb about 28 miles northwest of New York, will face trial on federal criminal charges involving the sale of municipal bonds.The defendant is the elected supervisor of Ramapo. Prosecutors allege that the defendant defrauded bond purchasers who helped finance a minor league baseball stadium near Ramapo. The essential allegation claims that the defendant and the former executive director of the Ramapo Local Development Corp. defrauded potential investors by concealing the city's shaky financial condition while they were actively marketing the bonds. The federal [...]