Thaindian News

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – A Manhattan, New York woman on Wednesday pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud in connection to a scheme to illegally obtain money intended for helping foster children, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said.

Liliana Trafficante engaged in a five-year scheme to obtain money by claiming it was for a project intended to aid foster children. The defendant spent much of the money on personal expenses and other purposes.

Trafficante was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of International Dreams in Manhattan. She was also the principal of a number of entities related to International Dreams such as GoOcean Park and Resort LLC, Bouchville Manors, The Little Water Park That Could, and Signature A.

The defendant claimed to be raising money for the purchase of land for the completion of a water park for foster children. She raised money through postings on the Craigslist website and made false statements to individuals in order to entice them to make loans and/or investments in the Trafficante entities.

One of Trafficante’s scams consisted in telling an individual that land for the Water Park Project was located. The defendant claimed that the land was rich with natural resources but exploration was needed before the construction of the project. As a result, the investor loaned $100,000 to one of the defendant’s entities.

Trafficante issued promissory notes that stated the purpose of the loans. However, such notes were never fulfilled. Records indicated that Trafficante used the money loaned for personal expenses instead of funding the alleged project.

The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Trafficante agreed to pay restitution to the victims too. He will be sentenced on January 24.