Glamorous Florida woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for running $200M animal rescue Ponzi scheme

South Florida's glamorous 'Mother Theresa' has been sentenced to 20 years successful situation aft starring a astir $200 cardinal Ponzi strategy that defrauded respective investors. 

Johanna Michley Garcia, 41, has been sentenced to 20 years successful situation aft she pled blameworthy for her relation successful a $190,700,000 Ponzi scheme arsenic the erstwhile CEO of MJ Capital Funding, LLC. 

In July, Garcia pled blameworthy successful Broward County, Florida, for conspiracy to perpetrate message and wire fraud of implicit 2,000 investors. 

Her and her co-conspirators utilized entities, which weren't registered with the Florida Division of Corporations, to glean $3.2 cardinal to $4 cardinal from astatine slightest 20 investors, according to her blameworthy plea, reported the Miami Herald. 

A Ponzi strategy typically pays aboriginal investors with wealth from aboriginal investors to make the illusion of profits. Her company, founded successful 2020, pledged to link investors with tiny businesses done merchant currency advances oregon MCA. 

One of the investors, Steven Shulman, was 'devastated' aft learning his money, intended for a nonprofit, had been lost. 

'I researched her and she came onto maine with her communicative and her background,' helium told NBC. 'I was blind-sided, I was devastated, I was crying, I was sad, I realized, what americium I going to do?' 

Shulman is the CEO and laminitis of Animal Care Now, a nonprofit that provides exigency backing for animals successful distress and had entrusted $50,000 to Garcia. 

'The wealth I mislaid was going to prevention the lives of animals successful distress. My security concern faltered, Covid killed it, and my existent property concern killed it, truthful this came on astatine an opportune time.' 

Despite heartbreakingly losing his money, helium is satisfied to spot justness being served. 

'I wasn't going to get immoderate wealth back, I mislaid everything, but astatine slightest she won't beryllium capable to harm anybody and her nefarious ways of doing things is over,' helium told the outlet. 

Her institution biography described Garcia arsenic a 'hardworking pistillate that has her priorities successful line.' She boasted being a down-to-earth businesswoman who helped regular radical make wealthiness and was adjacent referred to arsenic 'Mother Theresa' successful her community, the New York Post reported. 

The conspiracy progressive Garcia starring others, including Pavel Roman Ruiz Hernandez, successful the concern Ponzi fraud scheme, according to the Southern District of Florida Attorney's Office. 

Garcia conspired with others to 'fraudulently solicit wealth from investors to money MJ Capital Funding's MCAs' and recruited different radical with paid commissions to solicit investors, according to the attorney's office. 

'However, the institution made fewer loans and failed to gain anyplace adjacent the profits it needed to wage the investors the promised returns,' they said. 

Due to the deficiency of earnings, Garcia is said to person paid investors with different investors money, ' while misappropriating millions of dollars for her ain idiosyncratic benefit.' 

Of the astir $200 cardinal raised, investors mislaid astir $90 million, according to the attorney's office. 

In April 2021, MJ Capital was accused of moving a Ponzi scheme. Garcia sued the anonymous whistleblower for defamation, and continued to cod investments done August 2021, erstwhile the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a ceremonial ailment against the company. 

According to the court document, the SEC alleged that Garcia's institution utilized investors' wealth to money 'outside annualized "returns" of 120%-180%,' portion institution superiors stashed the currency for their ain expenses. 

Once the Federal Bureau of Investigation and SEC had unopen down MJ Capital Funding, Garcia, Ruiz Hernandez and others began operating a caller akin scheme. 

Garcia led the caller strategy until her arrest, and aft portion she was successful prison. The caller fraud strategy included New Beginning Global Funding LLC, New Beginning Capital Funding LLC, Lion Heart Capital Group L.L.C., GMR Remodeling LLC, and Group Management LLC.  

The strategy functioned likewise to the archetypal MJ Capital Funding scheme, by utilizing investors' wealth to wage erstwhile investors, and backing the conspirators' lifestyles. 

Garcia's co-conspirator, Ruiz Hernandez, was charged successful August 2022 and pled blameworthy successful August 2023. Ruiz Hernandez was past sentenced successful September 2023 to 110 months successful situation with 3 years of supervised release.