Montana Man Pleads Guilty In Scamming $43 Million From Canadian Bank In Oil Tanker Scheme
A Montana man pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in a federal courtroom in Manhattan this week. Todd Capser’s alleged wire fraud was in connection with a $43 million fraud scheme involving a Canadian Bank.
Prosecutors accused Capser of providing false information about his assets. Capser was attempting to leverage a $43.3 million loan from a Toronto lender identified only as “Financial Institution 1” by federal authorities.
However, a related civil suit indicates the lender as being Third Eye Capital Corporation of Toronto. Capser’s business is also identified as “Wayfare Transoceanic.”
The Montana man was going to buy chemical and oil shipping tankers from a Hong Kong shipping firm. Capser apparently bought the tankers at $20 million apiece with the intention of leasing them back to the shipping company for $8,500 a day.
Afterward, Capser solicited similar investments from at least nine other lenders. Federal authorities say Capser also supplied fake items as collateral. He included $400 million proceeds from the sale of a fake cattle ranch.
United States Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:
The FBI also identified Capser’s father, Edward Michael Capser, as being part of the scheme, though criminal charges have not been filed against Edward Michael Capser. The father and son are both defendants in the related civil lawsuit. The father is known as an artist in the Billings community.
The federal civil lawsuit identifies Edward Michael Capser as backing the $43 million loan with a bogus investment portfolio worth at least $30 million.
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