RI Marine Accused of Running Ponzi Scheme Has Created Two New Companies
GoLocalProv News Team
RI Marine Accused of Running Ponzi Scheme Has Created Two New Companies
Presently, Aubin is facing a lawsuit by two of his former investors. He has also been arrested on unrelated felony forgery and counterfeit charges, and is being investigated by the Rhode Island State Police.
Aubin’s business — Anchor State Investments, which focuses on buying properties and “hard money lending" — is at the center of the allegations.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOne 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."
In recent weeks, Aubin has created two new companies, according to the Rhode Island corporation database. The new companies have similar names.
Anchor State Capital, LLC is a new name for the embattled copy at the center of Aubin’s legal troubles. Aubin filed a name change with the state just one week after GoLocal began reporting on the allegations.
Anchor State Properties, LLC was also filed two weeks after GoLocal’s stories.
Aubin has refused to respond to email or text questions regarding the creation of the new business entities.
Allegations of Forgery and Counterfeiting
According to Rhode Island court documents, Aubin was charged in September 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. He is not scheduled to be back before the court until January 2, 2025.
GoLocal reached out to Aubin for comment, 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.
According to Patsy Sperduto — the man who invested hundreds of thousands of dollars with Aubin’s company and is alleging that the former Marine is running a Ponzi scheme — 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.
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 Investments sponsoring a racing team—a team associated with Chris Tasca, the President and co-founder of the charter air company Fly Alliance.
Alleged Ponzi Scheme - Rhode Island State Police Investigation
In September, GoLocal broke the story of the alleged Ponzi scheme.
GoLocal revealed that two of the investors in Aubin’s Anchor State Investments filed a civil lawsuit for fraud, and one of the investors is on record claiming Aubin is running a Ponzi scheme.
Sperduto told GoLocal in September that Aubin is pressing forward with litigation because “others need to know about [Aubin].”