More Legal Trouble for RI Marine Tied to Alleged Ponzi Scheme - Arrest and RISP Investigation

More Legal Trouble for RI Marine Tied to Alleged Ponzi Scheme - Arrest and RISP Investigation

Cumberland Police arrested Christopher Aubin on Thursday on charges relating to two alleged financial crimes, according to court records.

Aubin is the businessman who was featured by GoLocal on Saturday.

GoLocal revealed that two of the investors in Aubin’s company — Anchor State Investments — have filed a civil lawsuit for fraud, and one of the investors is on record claiming Aubin is running a Ponzi scheme.

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One of Aubin's company investors, Patsy Sperduto, told GoLocal he is pressing forward with litigation because “others need to know about [Aubin].” 

"He is running a Ponzi scheme," says Sperduto.

Now, there are even more legal issues for Aubin.

GoLocal has learned that Aubin is being investigated by the Rhode Island State Police’s financial crimes unit.

 

 

 

Allegations of Forgery and Counterfeiting

According to Rhode Island court documents, Aubin was charged with one felony count of forgery and counterfeiting and one misdemeanor count of filing a false financial statement to obtain a loan or credit.

Aubin did not enter a plea and was released on a $5,000 bond, according to court records.

GoLocal reached out to Aubin for comment on Saturday, but he declined to comment and referred questions to attorney Steven Dilibero.

Dilibero said, “I have no comment.” According to court records, he represents Aubin in both the civil complaint and the criminal financial charges.

Aubin’s company — Anchor State Investments — focuses on buying properties and “hard money lending.”

One version of the company's website states, "Our team is comprised of people with different kinds of finance experience, but we all have this in common — a commitment to ethics and integrity. We’re all fully licensed and credentialed."

 

More Spending

According to Sperduto, Aubin is taking in investors' money and using it to fly private jets, pay for tens of thousands in custom suits, and drive Lamborghinis.

Aubin says he served as a member of the United States Marines for eight years.

Sperduto invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into Aubin's firm and was promised big returns. Anchor State Investments claims it does real estate investment and "hard money" lending.

One question is how much of investors' money went to lending and how much went to other expenditures.

GoLocal found an Instagram video of Anchor State Investment sponsoring a racing team—a team associated with Chris Tasca, the President and co-founder of the charter air company Fly Alliance. 

 

SEE THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THE STORY