An Olathe, Kan., man was indicted Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on federal charges of devising a fraud scheme that cost a Turkish investor millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
Nagy Shehata, 55, Olathe, Kan., and Laura Lee Sorsby, 62, Texarkana, Texas, are charged in a superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. In addition, Shehata is charged with two counts of money laundering.
The indictment alleges the crimes occurred while Shehata was the president and registered agent for Premier Investment Group, Inc., and Sorsby was president of Can Am International, LLC, headquartered in Dallas. They offered an investor in Turkey investments in building a shopping mall in Turkey and a hospital in Syria.
The investor transferred 6 million Euros (more than $8 million) for the hospital project. The defendants diverted the money to their own use, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Shehata bought an $855,000 house and an $111,000 auto. Sorsby bought a $77,000 car and a $163,000 house. They promised the investor to return his money but they never gave the money back.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the conspiracy count and each of the wire fraud counts, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the money laundering counts. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.