A Bradenton woman has been sentenced for investment fraud and money laundering, sending her to federal prison and forcing her to forfeit expensive items and nearly $10 million.
U.S. District Judge James S. Moody has sentenced Lori Ann Nademus, of Bradenton, Florida south of Tampa and north of Sarasota, to nine years and two months in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering. The court also ordered Nademus to forfeit a 10-carat white gold and diamond wedding ring and a stainless-steel TAG Heuer watch, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense. As part of her sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $9.75 million, the proceeds of the wire fraud scheme.
According to court documents, between February 2017 and September 2020, Nademus solicited individuals to invest in false and fraudulent high-yield investment programs and used the fraud proceeds to perpetuate the scheme and for her own personal enrichment. Using her purported foundations, Nademus falsely and fraudulently represented that the victim-investors’ funds would be used for various projects, such as providing clean water to a third world country, purchasing a trust in Liechtenstein at a cost exceeding $1 million, leveraging a gold mine for investment, and liquidating a multi-million dollar investment, and that the victim-investors would realize nearly immediate, significant, and ongoing gains by providing bridge financing.
Nademus communicated that the investments were safe for various reasons, including that the investments were secured by millions of dollars of assets held by her “Teras Foundation Investments.” Nademus memorialized the phony investment opportunities presented to victim-investors in so-called promissory notes, balloon promissory notes, and/or memos of understanding. She caused the victim-investors to transmit their funds, often via interstate wires, to accounts in the names of Dunamis Foundation, Teras Foundation, or an attorney’s IOTA account.
Nademus used nearly all of the funds for international travel, luxury residences, high-end retail purchases of clothing, jewelry, and other items, and for her own personal enrichment. When she failed to pay the victim-investors their supposed gains in a timely manner, Nademus endeavored to assuage their concerns by promising a higher return at a later time to lull them into a false sense of security.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tiffany E. Fields and Rachelle DesVaux Bedke. The forfeiture is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Nebesky.
