05/13/2008

News / MANAGER OF $6.5 MILLION FOREIGN EXCHANGE 'BOILER ROOM' FRAUD SENTENCED TO MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, announced today that VICTOR ALTMAN
was sentenced to 88 months in prison for managing and
participating in a fraudulent foreign currency exchange scheme
which resulted in losses of approximately $6.5 million to more
than 200 investors. The sentence was imposed by United States
District Judge VICTOR MARRERO in Manhattan federal court.
According to the Indictment and other documents filed in this
case:
ALTMAN and ten co-conspirators were employed at a
fraudulent foreign currency exchange (“forex”) firm called
Holston, Young, Parker & Associates (“Holston”), which operated
in 2002 and 2003 from an office on William Street in Manhattan.
BORIS SHUSTER, a/k/a “Robert Shuster,” ALEXANDER DZEDETS, a/k/a
“Sasha Dzedets,” and ALTMAN operated and managed Holston as a
“boiler room,” where the employees made false statements and used
high-pressure sales techniques to solicit investments in
Holston’s purported forex trading program. The defendants lied
about the use of invested funds; used false names and titles when
they telephoned potential investors throughout the United States;
and misrepresented their experience in the industry, the
company’s history and success generating profits for clients, and
their own client-base. For example, one Holston employee falsely
claimed to have celebrities and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies as
his clients when, in fact, there were no such clients. Almost
all of the employees at Holston were given and used the title
“Senior Vice-President,” regardless of actual training or
experience, to create the false impression that the investors
were speaking with high-level, experienced professionals.
Prospective investors who exhibited interest in the cold calls
would receive misleading Holston promotional materials. Funds
raised from the investors through use of the false and misleading
sales pitches and materials were not used to make investments in
the forex market, but were instead diverted to bank accounts in
-2-
Cyprus and Russia.
SHUSTER was sentenced in February to 150 months in
prison after pleading guilty in June 2007 to one count of
conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, 14 counts of wire
fraud, and 13 counts of mail fraud. DZEDETS pleaded guilty in
December 2007 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail
fraud, and one count of wire fraud. He is currently awaiting
sentencing.
On December 10, 2007, ALTMAN pleaded guilty to one
count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and one count
of wire fraud. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge
MARRERO ordered ALTMAN to pay restitution in the amount of
$1,226,194.52, and forfeit to the government $1,226,194.52.
In imposing the sentence, Judge MARRERO stated that
ALTMAN had participated in a “significant and serious fraud” that
affected numerous investors, and “undermined trust that
individuals have in the financial services industry.”
ALTMAN, 39, lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. GARCIA praised the work of the U.S. Commodity
Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys STEVEN D. FELDMAN and
MARC O. LITT are in charge of the prosecution.
08-112 ###

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