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Arrest
Joseph Shereshevsky and Steven Byers his Chicago business partner are arrested and charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with defrauding investors by diverting at least $100 million of their funds through a Ponzi scheme .
Chicago-based investment firm WexTrust Capital and its major owners - Joseph Shereshevsky of Norfolk and Steven Byers of Oak Brook, Ill. - targeted members of the Orthodox Jewish community for their investment schemes, the SEC said in its civil complaint. -
Support
Relatives and close friends turn out in force to support Shereshevsky 's request for release on bond. His wife, Elka , and one of his grown daughters, Ahuva Manela, are among those who testify in federal court about his family ties and generosity. At the end of a three-hour detention hearing, Judge Miller ordered the co-owner of an investment firm to remain in custody until his arraignment on charges of securities fraud. -
Elka Shereshevsky
Shereshevsky's wife, Elka, is named as a "relief defendant", someone who received ill-gotten assets through the actions of a named defendant. Elka Shereshevsky, according to the SEC's amended complaint, owns a 20 percent stake in WexTrust through the Shereshevsky Family Partnership and is general partner of the partnership. She also is employed by WexTrust Securities, the brokerage firm-affiliate of WexTrust Capital, the complaint said. -
Posting Bond
Shereshevsky is prepared to post a $5 million bond , secured in part by his father-in-law's home and the home of his gardener, according to a filing in federal court in Manhattan. A federal magistrate in Norfolk afterward denies Shereshevsky's request for bail. Because of his frequent overseas travel and his contacts in Europe, Africa and Israel, Shereshevsky is a flight risk, Magistrate Tommy Miller states in his order to detain Shereshevsky. -
Bond Ruling
A federal judge in Manhattan rules that Shereshevsky can be released on a $10 million bond. Ten relatives and friends of Shereshevsky , agree to sign the bond, Martin J. Siegel , a New York attorney who is representing Shereshevsky, says after the bail hearing. Each of the 10 will have to be interviewed by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan to determine that they are financially responsible, Siegel said. Only five of the 10 can be family members, he said. -
Request to Reduce Bond
Joseph Shereshevsky, the part-owner and former chief operating officer of investment company WexTrust Capital, asks a judge in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan to reduce the $10 million bail that another judge imposed. Shereshevsky hasn't been able to line up 10 financially qualified individuals who together can satisfy the bond amount if he fails to appear at trial, according to an Oct. 31 letter to U.S. District Judge Henry Pitman . -
Indicted
Two co-owners of investment firm WexTrust Capital are indicted in federal court in Manhattan on fraud charges related to the way they raised more than $9 million from an offering of real-estate investments. Joseph Shereshevsky, a Norfolk resident and former chief operating officer of WexTrust, and Steven Byers, the company's founder and chief executive officer, were each charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud. -
Change of Lawyers
An attorney for Joseph Shereshevsky of Norfolk, asks the federal court in Manhattan in December to be released from representing Shereshevsky, the co-owner and former chief operating officer of Chicago-based WexTrust Capital. Shereshevsky hadn't paid for his legal work and failed to follow his advice, attorney John Meringolo says in his filing. During a pre trial hearing U.S. District Judge Denny Chin approves Meringolo's request and named another New York City attorney. -
WexTrust Auction
A weeklong sale of the contents of WexTrust Capital's office in Dominion Tower raises about $35,000, the court-appointed receiver for WexTrust says. Some remaining items, including furniture and electronic equipment, will be sold at auction in the next 30 to 60 days, says the receiver, Timothy Coleman. -
Motion to Change Bail Terms
A federal court in Manhattan agrees to consider less-stringent bail requirements for Joseph Shereshevsky. He is seeking a reduction in the bail amount from $10 million to $5 million and other changes in the court's bail provisions. The family's assets have been frozen, and "there is no evidence that Mr. Shereshevsky has assets secreted somewhere that he could use to flee," Michael O. Hueston, his court-appointed attorney, said in an April 2 motion to change the bail terms. -
Flight Risk
Shereshevsky , detained in New York City on charges of securities fraud, must remain in custody until he posts $10 million bail, a federal judge determines. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin states that part of the $49 million of WexTrust funds that Shereshevsky sent to Africa for investments was still missing and that Shereshevsky faced 15 years in prison if convicted at a trial. "There is a significant risk of flight," Chin said.
