Reply #349: FBI investigating widow of CyberNET Group CEO [View All]

[seemslikeadream]

Krista Watson


(Update, Grand Rapids, December 3, 2004, 7:24 p.m.) According to federal documents detailing the investigation of Grand Rapids-based The CyberNET Group, the FBI is building a case against not only the estate of the company’s now deceased CEO, Barton Watson, but also against his wife, Krista Watson.

...

The FBI document says Mrs. Watson was deeply involved in creating "dummy" corporations, manipulating employees into breaking the law, and transferring millions of dollars in and out of bank accounts in a laundering scheme.

...

Five years later while working as an executive at The CyberNET Group, she convinced employees to remove refurbished stickers from computers in order to sell them as new.

...

24 Hour News 8 tried to find Krista Watson. We checked at her parents’ house but nobody answered. We also tried at her million dollar mansion in Ada Township. The Watson name has since been removed from the buzzer at the gate. We then looked at her stable in Ada, but there is still no sign of her. The same can be said at her condo.

...

On Page 27, investigators say Krista created a shell company in which $9 million were deposited then withdrawn in three years.
On Page 32, authorities say employees were instructed by Krista to create dummy invoices to fool banks and get loans.
On Page 41, it says Krista Kotlarz used a fake company name to buy a $350,000 Rolls Royce.
On Page 43, the affidavit alleges Krista created numerous shell companies to launder illegal proceeds for her personal gain.
These are just a smattering of all the allegations as her name or an alias is mentioned in the document 65 times.

So will charges be filed in this case against Krista Watson? And if so, when? Sources at the FBI say it could be months.
more
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2646808&nav=0RceToVt


CyberNET a circle of fraud, FBI affidavit says

Thursday, December 02, 2004
By Ed White
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Federal agents are building a case of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion against executives at the CyberNET Group, according to a 54-page document that describes an elaborate scheme to reap millions of dollars from lenders who believed they were financing high-tech equipment and services.

Instead, a big chunk paid for the high life of Barton and Krista Watson: a condominium off Chicago's Michigan Avenue, a $350,000 Rolls Royce, wine worth $20,000, a Cessna airplane and more than $1 million in credit-card purchases, the FBI said.

They created phony companies and rented mailboxes across the country to fool lenders into keeping the cash flowing, agent Roberta Gilligan said.

She described it as a "Ponzi" scheme, named for an old Boston swindler, as the Watsons and President James Horton repeatedly sought new sources of money to maintain their lifestyle and keep up with debt payments.
more
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1102004126205710.xml

Authorities release 911 tape of CyberNET Group CEO

(Update, Ada Township, November 30, 2004, 7:46 p.m.) Authorities have released the telling 911 tapes from The CyberNET Group CEO Barton Watson on the night he committed suicide during a standoff with police at his home.

Excerpt 1 of the 911 conversation
Excerpt 2 of the 911 conversation
Brad Edwards report
The tapes contain two hours of conversations between the embattled leader and negotiators, negotiations that stopped when Watson shot and killed himself last week.

On that night, the pressure was mounting for Watson to answer questions as his business was folding, creditors were looking for millions of dollars and a hundred plus workers were told they were out of work.

Dispatcher: "911 emergency."
Watson: "Hello."
Dispatcher: “Hi, 911 emergency. What's your emergency?"
Watson: "Well there's a gun in my mouth."

more
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2631342&nav=0RceTgGp

Vigilant firm avoided CyberNET
Friday, December 03, 2004
By Ed White
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Not everyone got stung.

A New York financial company considered lending $1.1 million to help Cyberco Holdings acquire computer equipment and Herman Miller office furniture last year.

But First American Equipment Finance backed out after hitting roadblocks while trying to confirm the goods actually would be delivered.

First American believed it was "the victim of a possible fraud," the FBI said.

The aborted deal is included in an affidavit describing the government's criminal investigation of Cyberco, also known as CyberNET, and its executives. Agents suspect fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in the use and pursuit of borrowed money.

Several banks and financiers were duped into lending millions for equipment that didn't exist, the FBI said.
more
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1102088753289330.xml