Josh Schuster on Bail for $10M Fraud, Cokers Sentenced in $100M Deli Scam, 'The Bull' Gets 8 Years for $20M Fraud

Josh Schuster, the former head of Silverback Development based in Boca Raton, was released on a $2 million personal surety bond cosigned by his family in Florida. He awaits arraignment in New York City later this week on charges of wire and securities fraud. Schuster is accused of orchestrating a 'Ponzi-like' scheme that defrauded investors of more than $10 million between 2018 and 2022. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed a civil complaint against Schuster, seeking the return of alleged 'ill-gotten gains' plus interest and civil penalties, and a ban from buying or selling unregistered securities. Schuster had previously attempted to start a new real estate company focused on installing solar farms on commercial rooftops.

In a separate case, Peter Coker Sr., an 82-year-old North Carolina businessman from Chapel Hill, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by six months of home confinement for his role in a $100 million stock fraud scheme involving a New Jersey deli. He was also ordered to pay a $500,000 fine and up to $644,000 in restitution. His son, Peter Coker Jr., who had renounced his U.S. citizenship and holds citizenship in St. Kitts, received a 40-month sentence for the same scheme, which also involved a shell company named E-Waste and Hometown International, the deli owner. The scheme resulted in nearly $5 million in losses, including investments from Duke and Vanderbilt universities. Coker Jr. was brutally attacked while in a Thai prison awaiting extradition and suffers from severe cirrhosis, with doctors considering a liver transplant.

In Utah, entrepreneur Jeremiah Joseph Evans, known as 'The Bull,' was sentenced to eight years in prison for defrauding over 500 investors of $20 million through illegal security investments via his company, Alpha Influence. Evans promised passive income from Amazon dropshipping stores but used the funds for personal expenses, including a partial payment for a white Lamborghini Huracan Evo. Evans, who had previously claimed to be a former Division One quarterback at BYU, promoted his scheme through a brash online persona and hosted a conference called Alpha Con in Salt Lake City.