“Ballow used lies and deception to sell stock in his companies to unsuspecting investors, including many Canadians,” said Hopper. “He hid his true identity, his past criminal convictions and his fugitive status. He also published false and misleading information about the companies in order to tempt investors and increase stock prices.”
Unfortunately for the investors, most of Ballow’s victims were not wealthy people. Rather, they were fairly normal individuals simply trying to plan their financial futures. The loss of money for the victims was in some cases catastrophic.
Justice Prevails
In July 2010, Ballow’s luck ran out when he was detained by Mexican authorities on an arrest warrant issued by the Southern District of Texas for a previous money laundering conviction. He was extradited back to the U.S. in April 2011, and not long after that, he was sentenced to 10 years on the money laundering charge.
Also in July 2010, the same month Ballow had been apprehended in Mexico, he was indicted again — this time related to the E-SOL stock fraud scheme. A few months later, his co-conspirators were indicted and additional charges were lodged against Ballow.
