of his life behind bars. “If convicted, [Chapman] will face long periods of incarceration in prison with other criminals such as drug dealers and bank robbers,” says DiBiagio. Calls to William R. Martin, the Washington, D.C.-based attorney representing Chapman, were not returned.
Kevin Ingram: Terrorist Ties?
Kevin Ingram, 45, perhaps the most notorious of the fallen stars, is in a category unto himself. Famous for his lavish parties and showering his women friends with extravagant gifts, Ingram was charged in 2001 with money laundering in affiliation with a deal to illegally sell weapons to foreign entities that may have ties to terrorist organizations.
The Philadelphia native was a high-flying Goldman Sachs bond trader, mentored by former Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin and Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), who made a name for himself by successfully restructuring underperforming assets at the brokerage giant. Ingram became a highly sought-after trader. By September 1998, he was working for Deutsche Bank and was head of the mortgage-backed securities desk when he was released amid a market downturn caused by the dotcom crash. But with Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Wall Street diversity initiative in his corner, Ingram was able to negotiate a lucrative settlement reportedly worth between $5 million and $30 million.
Ingram would then launch an Internet-based bond-trading house and invest his money in several ventures. One of these businesses was a construction firm that involved now 60-year-old Jersey City, New Jersey, resident Diaa Mohsen.
The investigation that resulted in Ingram’s arrest originally focused on two Jersey City men, Mohammed Rajaa Malik, 55, and Mohsen, who authorities suspected of procuring arms for a former foreign military official. Court documents allege that the two men negotiated a deal to buy missiles, night-vision goggles, grenade launchers, and guns from an undercover agent posing as an illegal arms dealer. In June 1999, Mohsen unwittingly introduced Ingram to an undercover agent. Following this introduction, Ingram laundered $100,000 and $250,000 for federal agents on two occasions in 1999, pocketing a 9% cut.
The end came in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. An undercover agent had approached Ingram the previous week asking him to launder $16 million, $2.2 million right away. Ingram, stipulating a 25% cut, made an agreement with the undercover agent. Ingram and his pilot, Walter Kapij, 46, of Wethersfield, Connecticut, told the agent that to accomplish the transaction, they had chartered a Learjet to transport the cash to the Netherlands. At that point, Ingram and Kapij were arrested.
Ingram pleaded guilty to money laundering, but after cutting a deal with prosecutors in which he testified against Malik and Mohsen, he served 18 months at a minimum-security facility in New Jersey and paid a $20,000 fine. All other charges were dropped.
Ingram was recently released from prison.
Michael E. Sawyer: Money Manager Or Crook?
While Sawyer’s attorneys say he’ll be vindicated when he has his day in court, one Houston resident is among those who claim the Chicago-based investment adviser bilked him out of more than $1 million, which was used to fund Sawyer’s extravagant lifestyle. Sawyer was arraigned in