FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following reports by victims and witnesses throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe – the Lerman Law Firm (Cathy Jackson Lerman, P.A.) is issuing an International Fraud Alert warning of an ongoing scheme to defraud the public involving the sale of fake and/or non-existent Covid-19 vaccine products and personal protective equipment (PPE).
The public is cautioned as to the following entities known for soliciting fraudulent investments, conducting fraudulent PPE and/or COVID-19 vaccine transactions, or executing other fraudulent schemes:
- Procap Investments, LLC
- DNA Distro, LLC
- DNA Global Entities, LLC
- DNA Global Properties, LLC
- DNA Companies, Inc.
- Hawk Systems, Inc.
- Hawk Biometric of Canada, Inc.
- Hawk Biometric Technologies, Inc.
- Print Access Securities Systems, LLC
The PPE scheme is the latest illegal venture in a long-running fraud ring spearheaded by West Palm Beach resident David Coriaty (AKA David Columbo) and his associates. Coriaty is known as the Founder, CEO, and Chairman for the now-defunct Hawk Systems, Inc. – a Florida-based entity classified as an organized scheme to defraud investors according to a report by the Palm Beach County Sherriff’s Office.
Through Hawk Systems, Coriaty and his associates targeted hundreds of investors in a nationwide investment scheme – with Coriaty even falsely claiming to be a Miami Dolphins football player and NFL sports manager to gain access and credibility with victims. Evidence in a shareholder derivative suit (Spanakos v. Hawk Systems, Inc., Palm Beach County Case No. 2010CA017971) filed by a former Director of Hawk Systems revealed that tens of millions of dollars in investor funds were misappropriated for the personal use of Coriaty and co-conspirators Ed Sebastiano, Tony DeRisi, Burt Rhodes, and Robert Pate, among others.
On August 6, 2021, Coriaty was arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in an alleged road rage incident. Coriaty was in possession of a gun at the time of his arrest and ultimately was charged with 4 felonies for possession of controlled substances including cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy and steroids. He is currently awaiting trial.
Coriaty has been represented by Cooper City, FL attorney Frank Smith, Esq. in several related matters, and Smith currently remains counsel of record on behalf of Coriaty as a named defendant in litigation against Hawk Systems. For nearly a decade, Smith has served as the incorporating attorney and registered agent for companies controlled by Coriaty, as well as having prepared legal documents for Coriaty for use in solicitation of investors.
Multiple victims cite Smith for his involvement in this latest PPE scheme – with at least one attorney having contacted him on behalf of victims who lost several hundred thousand dollars in a fraudulent PPE transaction in early 2020. A separate victim filed a Florida Bar complaint against Smith, accusing him of helping to facilitate fraud (No. 2020-50,793 (17D). The Florida Bar refrained from disciplining Smith after he, through counsel, claimed to have only served as paymaster in the transaction and that his client David Coriaty had never been a problem. According to the complaint, the victim never received the PPE they purchased nor did Coriaty return their tens of thousands of dollars.
The public is urged to exercise caution as to the following persons, who are known associates of Coriaty, some of whom use aliases and have extensive personal histories of fraud:
- Paulette Shimabukuro (AKA Paulette Kimura) of Las Vegas, NV has participated in fraudulent investment solicitations and/or transactions with Coriaty including, but not limited to, the sale of fake or non-existent PPE and Covid-19 vaccine products. She is currently the registered agent for DNA Distro, LLC and has previously been accused in a federal civil complaint of conducting a Ponzi Scheme (US District Court of Nevada, Case no. 10-cv-01889).
- Alan Aronson of Delray Beach, FL, who has several arrests for fraud, has participated with Coriaty in fraudulent investment solicitations, schemes or transactions involving Hawk Systems, Procap Investments, LLC and DNA Distro, LLC.
- Natalie Jerue of Palm Beach, FL is a longtime acquaintance of Coriaty. Jerue received money from the proceeds of at least one PPE fraud, yet it is unknown why she was compensated. According to law enforcement records, Jerue was with Coriaty at the time of his August 2021 arrest by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office but was not charged.
- Burt Rhodes (AKA Burt Rosenblatt) of Boca Raton, FL is a felon convicted of securities fraud. Rhodes served as a consultant on securities and investment strategies in the Hawk Scheme. Rhodes has also been accused of conducting his own fraudulent investment schemes through the companies: Print Access Securities Systems, Inc., Easy Access, Inc., and Rebate Realty, Inc. Discovery in the Hawk Systems shareholder derivative suit revealed that Rhodes defrauded his own son, Ronald Rosenblatt, out of tens of thousands of dollars through the Print Access and Rebate Realty schemes.
As of November 2021, victims across multiple US states have filed reports with local and federal law enforcement agencies regarding these associated members and connected entities. Other potential victims, witnesses and whistleblowers are urged to come forward and report any information about the ongoing PPE scheme, or other related matters in their possession to law enforcement as this is a matter of public health and safety and an ongoing fraudulent scheme.
Victims, witnesses and whistleblowers seeking assistance may contact Cathy Lerman, Esq. at The Lerman Law Firm at 954-332-1143 or via email at clerman@lermanfirm.com.
