Tiburon, CAA husband-and-wife team implicated in a $3 million Ponzi scheme have seen their case move forward with a plea deal on the part of Gina McGee. The latter pled guilty to securities fraud charges in a plea bargain that allows her to be released from prison. Her husband, meanwhile, remains behind bars in lieu of bail set at $5 million.
The stock fraud and various securities fraud charges tethered to the alleged Ponzi scheme may never be resolved in McGee's case, given that the plea deal allowed the California woman to escape admission of her alleged crimes, but at the same time conceding there was sufficient evidence against her for the prosecution to win their case.
McGee was sentenced to a year in jail, but promptly released given that she had already served the time since her arrest. The June 2 edition of Main Independent Journal noted that McGee had lost two friends while she was behind bars and both her mother and grandmother are ill. "I am making this plea at this time and not going to trial because I cannot fathom another person dying while I am in here," McGee said, reading from a prepared statement.
Glenn Jackson, McGee's husband, who was also implicated in the case and may yet face securities fraud litigation, has a more uphill battle. According to the Journal, the 45-year-old faces more than 40 counts of securities fraud, grand theft and conspiracy.
McGee and Jackson operated Highlands Capital Partners LP and promised high yields by way of low-risk investments in foreign currency exchanges. However, many of their investments on behalf of 16 clients went sour. In the meantime, the couple is alleged to have spent lavishly on personal expenses and travel.
It is reported that the scheme brought in millions of dollars. It should also be noted that the name of the enterprise—Highlands Capital Partners LP—is very similar to an existing venture capital firm known as Highland Capital Partners, located in Menlo Park, California. There is no relationship or association between the two.
Victims of the stock investment fraud are said to include a collection of real estate brokers, an attorney and an executive who worked in the world of finance.
Another individual implicated in the stocks and securities scheme was described as earning five-figure fees in exchange for bringing clients to the firm founded by McGee and Jackson.
Gina McGee's mother Mikki, who is suffering from breast cancer, noted upon the release of her daughter that Gina was innocent of the charges connected to the stock investment fraud. "When you're innocent, don't let anyone tell you otherwise," said McGee at her daughter's final hearing. "She didn't do anything."
Even though she is released, Gina McGee remains a convicted felon in association with the charges relating to securities investment fraud.
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