Josh S. Verne, 48, a former resident of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania and now living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been sentenced to more than nine years in prison for defrauding investors out of millions of dollars. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge John F. Murphy. In addition to the 111-month prison term, Verne received three years of supervised release, a $1,300 special assessment, and must forfeit $12,173,759.
Verne was indicted in August 2024 and pleaded guilty last March to nine counts of wire fraud, three counts of securities fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents and admissions by Verne, he operated several fraudulent schemes between 2017 and 2020 that targeted dozens of investors, prospective investors, employees, and business partners. He forged documents and attempted to obstruct justice by threatening or retaliating against individuals involved in the federal investigation.
Verne presented himself as a successful businessman and entrepreneur while controlling multiple limited liability companies. He made false claims about his previous business achievements, personal wealth, investments he supposedly held, and the financial status of his companies to convince others to invest or lend money. One example cited in court was when Verne gave an investor a forged Goldman Sachs statement indicating family holdings exceeding $50 million; investigators found no such accounts existed under his or his family’s names.
The funds obtained from these schemes were used not for legitimate business purposes but rather to pay off prior debts and support an extravagant lifestyle. This included expenses like renovations on a vacation property at the Jersey shore, private jet travel, political contributions, charitable donations in his name, and country club fees.
To avoid detection by authorities or delay repayment demands from investors he had misled about returns or repayments due them—Verne sent fake bank statements and FedEx confirmations purporting that funds had been delivered when they had not.
In another instance detailed by prosecutors: “At one point,” the press release stated,“Verne stole the identity of a former employee from his company,f orging the employee’s signature on a sales agreement to disguise an unauthorized sale of the employee’s shares of stock.Verne obtained $150 ,000 from the unauthorized saleand used those funds to make payments to himselfandtoapriorinvestor.”
After meeting with FBI agents regarding their investigation into his activities,“the defendant obstructed justiceby contactingthe former employeeandthreateningtodivulgefalse ,embarrassing information abouthim because theemployeeprovidedinformationtolawenforcement.”
The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant United States Attorneys Paul Shapiro and Jerome Maiatico prosecuted it. Civil securities fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Philadelphia Regional Office remain pending against Verne.
