A Florida man who lived in New Jersey previously has been charged with defrauding multiple victims of more than $1 million through an “upfront fee” scheme, U.S. prosecutors said.
In a complaint filed in Naples, Florida, John Sabo, 69, has been charged with two counts of wire fraud. He was arrested and made his initial appearance on Nov. 17, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Since November 2014, Sabo has fraudulently induced a number of victims into paying him thousands of dollars in “up-front” fees. Sabo falsely represented that, through his company Bankers Capital LLC, he could secure financing and collateral that the victims could use for their businesses. Neither Sabo nor Bankers Capital possessed or had access to the financing and collateral Sabo promised. Instead of using the victims’ money as promised, Sabo diverted millions of dollars out of Bankers Capital, primarily for personal expenses, which included payments to Sabo’s creditors and over $250,000 in golf-related expenses. In total, Sabo’s scheme resulted in over $1.77 million in losses to victims.
