DAWN BENNETT: WINNER- 2019 FRAUD OF THE YEAR AWARD

Who was she:

A 57 year old former:

• Resident of Chevy Chase
• Owner of luxury sportswear company DBJ
• Financial advisor and owner at Bennett Financial Group
• A 2009 Barrons “Top 100 Women Financial Adviser”.
• Creator and host of a radio show “Financial Myth Busting”. (We are unable to determine whether uncovering frauds was one of her shows)

(Above: Earlier day Dawn)

What did she do?

• Lied to her investors
• Was  convicted of:
  • Conspiracy
  • Securities Fraud
  • Wire fraud
  • Bank fraud
  • Falsified loan

She also racked up quite a record of regulatory penalties, including for “inflating assets of her firm, losing a 7 figure FINRA case, and being barred from the industry.

SO then?….

She defrauded 46 investors out of $20 Million by misstating earnings and the business condition of her internet clothing company.

Who did she bilk?

Retirees, cancer survivors, a retired FBI agent and at least one relative, a cousin whose “special needs” trust she raided, among others 

What did she do with the money?

• Leased a luxury suite at the Dallas Cowboy stadium for $500,000.
• Paid $141,000 on astrological gems
• Paid $100,000+ on cosmetic medical procedures
• Paid more than $800,000 for prayers by Hindu priests in India to ward off federal investigators while her business was collapsing.
• Paid a man in Washington state more than $100,000 to arrange casting”hoodoo” spells, to silence SEC The FBI found instructions for placing people under a “Beef Tongue Shut Up Hoodoo Spell” and found the initials of SEC attorneys written on the lids of Mason jars stored in Bennett’s freezers.

And, this cost her?

• $14.5 Million in restitution
• $14.3 Million in forfeiture
• 20 Years in jail

Current address: Chesapeake Detention Facility, Maryland.

• Oh, and, her attorney, William Zapf, who filed an appeal and promptly quit the case.

I wonder if she paid him in stock?

I also wonder – is this her latest clothing line?

Principal source, Baltimore Sun.