Before we start the solo Clyde Barrow story, his Bonnie obviously too smart to go on the run with him!
Let’s remind you via our report by Teri Buhl a while back why the FBI wanted to speak to him.
Cannabis Executive Justin Costello-GRN Funds sued for Securities Fraud
It all ended at the border this week and Securites Lawyer 101 have the whole story, $’s, gold bars, pesos and the obligatory fake ID
On October 4, 2022, SEC Defendant and FBI fugitive Justin Costello was arrested by an FBI SWAT team. Costello had been on the run from authorities as a fugitive since September 29th after failing to surrender to authorities after being charged with 22 counts of wire fraud and 3 counts of securities fraud as part of $35 million financial fraud.
According to the criminal Indictment, Costello, a 42-year-old resident of La Jolla, California, (i) diverted at least $3.6 million to himself from his company Pacific Banking Corp, which provided banking services to three marijuana companies, (ii) cost more than 7,500 investors about $25 million through pump-and-dump schemes fueled by false statements, (iii) scammed $6 million from 29 investors who invested directly with Costello based on false statements made to those investors about his background and experience, and (iv) misappropriated $42,000 to pay for his wedding with Katrina Rosseini, which included a Jame Bond-themed cake and ice sculptures.
According to information filed with the U.S. District Court Southern District of California (San Diego), the FBI SWAT team tracked Costello’s Alfa Romeo to a remote area in El Cajon, California, just an hour’s drive from the Mexican border, where agents found Costello walking around with a backpack. The agents arrested Costello, who stated he was surprised agents had found him because he had turned his phone off. Costello stated he did not turn himself in because he was recovering from a recent stroke, and if not for the stroke, he could have outrun the SWAT agents. Costello admitted that he was the person charged in the Indictment and encouraged agents to “Google” him so they could read about the case.
An inventory search revealed Costello’s backpack contained resources that aid in fleeing prosecution, including gold bars worth $12,000, U.S. currency worth $60,000, $10,000 in Mexican pesos, a receipt for a pre-paid phone number, a fake Washington state driver’s license with his photo in the name of “Christian Bolter”, and credit cards and checkbooks. The US Attorney is using those findings, along with the accusations in the Indictment and a history of violence, to argue that Costello should be detained without bond.
According to the Indictment, Costello’s fraudulent activities started in the fall of 2017 when he began providing banking services to three marijuana companies through his company, Pacific Banking Corp. Contrary to representations made to the three marijuana companies, Costello fraudulently diverted their funds collected by co-mingling them with other clients’ funds and using them for his own personal expenses and his own personal companies, including GRN Funds LLC. After diverting all the funds from Pacific Banking Corp, Costello provided the three marijuana companies with false statements to make them believe that the funds were still in control of Pacific Banking Corp.