Previous Florida Legal professional Indicted For Racketeering Relating To Procedure Of His Tallahassee Law Firm And Financial investment Providers | USAO-NDFL

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – A federal grand jury has returned a 1-depend indictment charging Phillip Timothy Howard, 61, of Tallahassee, Florida, with racketeering (RICO).  The indictment was introduced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

According to the indictment, concerning in or about December 2015, and in or about January 2018, Howard, a Florida lawyer, along with some others, was connected with and utilized by an Enterprise, that is, his Tallahassee law firm (Howard & Associates, P.A.), and quite a few Tallahassee investment decision organizations (Cambridge Cash Team, LLC Cambridge Funds Wealth Advisors, LLC Cambridge Capital Advisors, LLC Cambridge Cash Funding, Inc., Cambridge Capital Group Fairness Option Prospects, L.P. and Cambridge Capital Partners, L.P.).  The indictment further more alleges that during this time, Howard, together with other individuals, knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully performed and participated in the carry out of the affairs of the Organization, by way of a sample of racketeering action, specifically, wire fraud and revenue laundering. Exclusively, the indictment alleges that Howard engaged in such racketeering activity in a few approaches. 

First, it is alleged that Howard represented former NFL gamers in a course-motion lawsuit who were eligible for settlement payouts from the NFL, and as portion of that illustration, Howard fraudulently enticed his purchasers to make investments their retirement cash with his financial commitment corporations.  On the other hand, it is also alleged that Howard failed to disclose and misrepresented to these previous NFL participant traders the structure of the Enterprise, and the conflicts of curiosity and the prison qualifications of individuals related with or employed by the Business.  It is further alleged that Howard failed to disclose and misrepresented the accurate nature of financial investment companies’ money and the true investments produced by the former NFL player investors.  The indictment also alleges that in spite of reassuring buyers that their cash was secure, Howard under no circumstances knowledgeable them that nearly none of investment money yielded a return and unsuccessful to disclose that the investment cash had been commingled with funds applied to operate his legislation organization and to concern payroll for its workers, shell out Howard’s household mortgages, and if not individually enrich Howard.  It is alleged that Howard and other individuals fraudulently received and attempted to get hold of over $4 million as a result of this kind of carry out.

Next, the indictment alleges that Howard sought 3rd-bash creditors that would be prepared to lend cash to Howard’s previous NFL clientele in progress of their potential NFL concussion settlements as section of the NFL course-action lawsuit, and also to Howard as litigation funding for the NFL class-action lawsuit.  To attain this kind of money for himself and his shoppers, it is alleged that Howard presented phony and fraudulent information, including numerous content misrepresentations and omissions, to the creditors. It is alleged that Howard and other people fraudulently attained and tried to get hold of around $10 million from 3rd-bash creditors through this sort of perform.

3rd, the indictment alleges that Howard solicited a individual to invest in a serious estate venture located in Jacksonville, Florida, and in doing so, promised the trader specified returns on the investment inside a specified interval of time.  It is further more alleged that just after the trader funds transferred funds to the financial investment company, Howard and an worker falsely advised the investor that more funds was necessary in order to near that real estate deal, and that the trader was assured to obtain a certain return on that expenditure inside of a specified time period of time.  In reliance on this untrue guarantee, it is alleged that the trader transferred further proceeds to the investment decision company.  The indictment alleges that quite a few months later, the trader was falsely explained to by Howard that the real estate investment decision funds have been safe and would be returned to her.  It is alleged that Howard fraudulently obtained and attempted to receive above $520,000 from this investor through this perform.

Trial for Howard is scheduled for January 30, 2023, at 8:15 a.m., at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee just before the Honorable United States Chief District Judge Mark E. Walker. Howard faces a greatest penalty of 20 several years in jail for racketeering and a optimum phrase of 3 several years of supervised launch next any prison sentence that is imposed.

This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Inner Profits Service–Criminal Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Assistant United States Lawyers Justin M. Keen and David Byron are prosecuting the situation.

An indictment is just an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal felony regulation and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a honest trial, throughout which it will be the government’s load to confirm guilt over and above a affordable question at trial.

The United States Attorney’s Business office for the Northern District of Florida is a single of 94 workplaces that serve as the nation’s principal litigators less than the course of the Attorney Basic. To access general public court documents on the internet, make sure you visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For additional information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, go to http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.