Questions arose during the operation of the business as to whether 1 Global was offering or selling a security and whether the investment offering was required to be registered with the U.S.

Ruderman also admitted that he diverted 1 Global investor money to businesses benefitting him and his family, without the investors’ knowledge. Ruderman admitted that he spent 1 Global’s investor’s money on credit card payments, vacation travel, insurance payments for his art collection and valuable jewelry, drivers, nannies, housekeepers, mortgage payments for his house, tuition, and payments for a luxury car. According to plea documents, investors were falsely told that 1 Global had audited financials by a public accounting firm, that the investor’s money would be spent on the MCAs, and that they could expect double-digit returns on their investments, among other things. Ruderman admitted that he and others made false and misleading representations to investors and potential investors as to the profitability of 1 Global’s business in marketing materials and periodic account statements. In his plea agreement, Ruderman agreed to a sentence of 5 years, the statutory maximum, and to a forfeiture money judgment of over $250 million.ġ Global was a commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, Florida, that made the equivalent of “pay day” loans to small businesses at high interest rates, termed merchant cash advance loans (“MCAs”). Ruderman pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. Four of Ruderman’s co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty for their role in this fraud, including two lawyers who provided him with false legal cover to skirt federal securities laws.

Ruderman, 82, former chairman of 1 Global Capital LLC (“1 Global”) pled guilty yesterday to a $250 million securities fraud scheme.

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