San Diegan convicted of advance fee fraud scheme

San Diegan Joel Nathanson was convicted yesterday (February 19) of his role in an "advance fee" fraud scheme. Six defendants in all were convicted in Philadelphia, according to the United States Attorney's Office there.

An advance-fee fraud scheme is a particularly cruel one. Real estate developers, inventors, and others who cannot get credit from conventional sources pay an advance fee to a company that claims it has connections with lenders. But the company has no intention of finding lenders; it pockets the fees paid by victims.

In this case, the company was named Remington Financial Group (later Remington Capital). Nathanson "was one of Remington's most proficient employees and helped Remington defraud many victims," says the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Philadelphia.