Man ordered to pay over $3.5M in restitution for fraud scheme
(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — A Colorado man has been sentenced to 12 years in community corrections and ordered to pay over $3.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty on fraud charges.
According to Colorado Attorney General (AG) Phil Weiser's Office, 55-year-old Tra Jay Scarlett pleaded guilty to third degree felony securities fraud in connection to a scheme in which he cheated investors out of over $3.7 million.
The AG's Office said Scarlett's scheme involved a multitude of businesses and employees that misrepresented – or blatantly omitted – key information to prospective investors. This included falsifying financial statements, faking contracts with sports drink companies, and using funds for personal expenses rather than the reported business needs.
'Investment fraud can destroy entire families and futures,' said Weiser. 'Holding fraudsters accountable for this type of serious financial theft is key to protecting the public and preventing similar crimes from happening down the road.'
Under a business called 'Chatfield PCS, Ltd,' Weiser said Scarlett raised capital from approximately 34 investors for a second company, 'GO ECO Manufacturing, Inc' from February 2016 to January 2021. GO ECO was purportedly founded to provide ecological packaging and bottle services to corporate clients, promising investors that their money would generate 15-20% in annual returns.
Weiser said not only did GO ECO not provide bottling or packaging services, but it also didn't generate any revenue during this time.
Pitched as a low-risk, high-reward investment that came with share certificates for their contributions, Scarlett told investors GO ECO already had 'strategic partnerships' with drink manufacturers and commercial clients. Making his business seem like a guarantee for investment profit, Scarlett spent five years making fraudulent sales of securities to investors, never once mentioning any of the actual risks associated with their investments.
Investment scams all have telltale signs, with the common theme of promising massive returns that are exponential in comparison to your investment. For more information on how to spot these investment scams, or to file a complaint about a suspected investment scam, visit StopFraudColorado.gov.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Colorado joins lawsuit against ATF over deal ending ban on rapid-fire triggers for rifles
DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado is one of 16 states that have sued the Trump administration over its plan to allow the sale of forced-reset triggers that make semiautomatic rifles fire more rapidly and return devices already seized to their owners. The suit announced Monday argues that returning the triggers would violate federal law, pose a threat to residents and law enforcement and worsen gun violence. It was filed in federal court in Maryland. Governor signs bill requiring training for semiautomatic guns, banning rapid-fire conversion devices 'It's hard enough for our local law enforcement officials to protect Colorado communities from gun violence without the federal government willfully ignoring the law,' said Attorney General Weiser. 'The law is clear: machine guns, and devices that turn a semiautomatic weapon into a machine gun, are illegal. We're suing to stop the ATF and the administration from making our communities more dangerous by distributing thousands of devices that turn firearms into weapons of war. These weapons have no place in our communities, and I will continue to fight to keep Coloradans safe from gun violence.' The Colorado law banning the sale of rapid-fire conversion devices, including forced-reset triggers, was signed into law in April and will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2026. Second Amendment supporters have called on the U.S. Attorney General to investigate the measure as an infringement on the U.S. Constitution. Weiser said in a release announcing the state's participation in the lawsuit that machine gun conversion devices like the forced-reset triggers are frequently used in violent crimes and mass shootings. The state attorney general said that by using these devices, firearms can exceed the rate of fire of many military machine guns. 'ATF has noted a significant rise in the use of these types of devices, leading to incidents of machine-gun fire increasing by 1,400% from 2019 through 2021,' Weiser said in a press release. There had been several legal battles over the devices, which replace the typical trigger on an AR-15-style rifle. The Biden administration had previously argued the triggers qualify as machine guns under federal law because constant finger pressure on the triggers will keep a rifle firing, essentially creating an illegal machine gun. The ATF previously classified the triggers as machine guns, but under a directive from the Trump Administration, the bureau signed the settlement agreement that promises to stop enforcing federal law against the devices. New requirements begin July 1 for Colorado concealed carry permits Rare Breed Triggers, the maker of the devices, had argued that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was wrong in its classification and ignored demands to stop selling the triggers before being sued by the Biden administration. The Justice Department reached a deal announced last month with Rare Breed Triggers to allow the sale of forced-reset triggers. The company was previously represented by David Warrington, Trump's current White House counsel. Under the settlement, Rare Breed Triggers agreed not to develop such devices to be used on handguns, according to the Justice Department. The settlement requires the ATF to return triggers that it had seized or that owners had voluntarily surrendered to the government. The states' lawsuit is being led by the attorneys general of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. Other states involved are Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, along with the District of Columbia. The attorneys general in those states are all Democrats, though the office in Hawaii is technically nonpartisan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
How faulty DOGE AI tool impacted VA contracts
The code, using outdated and inexpensive AI models, produced results with glaring mistakes. For instance, it hallucinated the size of contracts, frequently misreading them and inflating their value. It concluded more than a thousand were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000. The DOGE AI tool flagged more than 2,000 contracts for 'munching.' It's unclear how many have been or are on track to be canceled — the Trump administration's decisions on VA contracts have largely been a black box. The VA uses contractors for many reasons, including to support hospitals, research and other services aimed at caring for ailing veterans. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up VA officials have said they've killed nearly 600 contracts overall. Congressional Democrats have been pressing VA leaders for specific details of what's been canceled without success. Advertisement We identified at least two dozen on the DOGE list that have been canceled so far. Among the canceled contracts was one to maintain a gene sequencing device used to develop better cancer treatments. Another was for blood sample analysis in support of a VA research project. Another was to provide additional tools to measure and improve the care nurses provide. Advertisement ProPublica obtained the code and the contracts it flagged from a source and shared them with a half dozen AI and procurement experts. All said the script was flawed. Many criticized the concept of using AI to guide budgetary cuts at the VA, with one calling it 'deeply problematic.' Cary Coglianese, professor of law and of political science at the University of Pennsylvania who studies the governmental use and regulation of artificial intelligence, said he was troubled by the use of these general-purpose large language models, or LLMs. 'I don't think off-the-shelf LLMs have a great deal of reliability for something as complex and involved as this,' he said. Sahil Lavingia, the programmer enlisted by DOGE, which was then run by Elon Musk, acknowledged flaws in the code. 'I think that mistakes were made,' said Lavingia, who worked at DOGE for nearly two months. 'I'm sure mistakes were made. Mistakes are always made. I would never recommend someone run my code and do what it says. It's like that 'Office' episode where Steve Carell drives into the lake because Google Maps says drive into the lake. Do not drive into the lake.' Though Lavingia has talked about his time at DOGE previously, this is the first time his work has been examined in detail and the first time he's publicly explained his process, down to specific lines of code. Lavingia has nearly 15 years of experience as a software engineer and entrepreneur but no formal training in AI. He briefly worked at Pinterest before starting Gumroad, a small e-commerce company that nearly collapsed in 2015. 'I laid off 75% of my company — including many of my best friends. It really sucked,' he said. Lavingia kept the company afloat by 'replacing every manual process with an automated one,' according to Advertisement Lavingia did not have much time to immerse himself in how the VA handles veterans' care between starting on March 17 and writing the tool on the following day. Yet his experience with his own company aligned with the direction of the Trump administration, which has embraced the use of AI across government to streamline operations and save money. Lavingia said the quick timeline of Under a time crunch, Lavingia said he finished the first version of his contract-munching tool on his second day on the job — using AI to help write the code for him. He told ProPublica he then spent his first week downloading VA contracts to his laptop and analyzing them. VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz lauded DOGE's work on vetting contracts in a statement to ProPublica. 'As far as we know, this sort of review has never been done before, but we are happy to set this commonsense precedent,' he said. The VA is reviewing all of its 76,000 contracts to ensure each of them benefits veterans and is a good use of taxpayer money, he said. Decisions to cancel or reduce the size of contracts are made after multiple reviews by VA employees, including agency contracting experts and senior staff, he wrote. Advertisement Kasperowicz said that the VA will not cancel contracts for work that provides services to veterans or that the agency cannot do itself without a contingency plan in place. He added that contracts that are 'wasteful, duplicative or involve services VA has the ability to perform itself' will typically be terminated. Trump officials have said they are working toward a The VA has said it would avoid cutting contracts that directly impact care out of fear that it would cause harm to veterans. ProPublica recently reported that relatively small cuts at the agency have already The VA has not explained how it plans to simultaneously move services in-house, as Lavingia's code suggested was the plan, while also slashing staff. Many inside the VA told ProPublica the process for reviewing contracts was so opaque they couldn't even see who made the ultimate decisions to kill specific contracts. Once the 'munching' script had selected a list of contracts, Lavingia said he would pass it off to others who would decide what to cancel and what to keep. No contracts, he said, were terminated 'without human review.' 'I just delivered the [list of contracts] to the VA employees,' he said. 'I basically put munchable at the top and then the others below.' VA staffers told ProPublica that when DOGE identified contracts to be canceled early this year — before Lavingia was brought on — employees sometimes were given little time to justify retaining the service. One recalled being given just a few hours. The staffers asked not to be named because they feared losing their jobs for talking to reporters. Advertisement According to one internal email that predated Lavingia's AI analysis, staff members had to respond in 255 characters or fewer — just shy of the 280 character limit on Musk's X social media platform. Once he started on DOGE's contract analysis, Lavingia said he was confronted with technological limitations. At least some of the errors produced by his code can be traced to using older versions of OpenAI models available through the VA — models not capable of solving complex tasks, according to the experts consulted by ProPublica. Moreover, the tool's underlying instructions were deeply flawed. Records show Lavingia programmed the AI system to make intricate judgments based on the first few pages of each contract — about the first 2,500 words — which contain only sparse summary information. 'AI is absolutely the wrong tool for this,' said Waldo Jaquith, a former Obama appointee who oversaw IT contracting at the Treasury Department. 'AI gives convincing looking answers that are frequently wrong. There needs to be humans whose job it is to do this work.' Lavingia's prompts did not include context about how the VA operates, what contracts are essential or which ones are required by federal law. This led AI to determine a core piece of the agency's own contract procurement system was 'munchable.' At the core of Lavingia's prompt is the direction to spare contracts involved in 'direct patient care.' Such an approach, experts said, doesn't grapple with the reality that the work done by doctors and nurses to care for veterans in hospitals is only possible with significant support around them. Advertisement Lavingia's system also used AI to extract details like the contract number and 'total contract value.' This led to avoidable errors, where AI returned the wrong dollar value when multiple were found in a contract. Experts said the correct information was readily available from public databases. Lavingia acknowledged that errors resulted from this approach but said those errors were later corrected by VA staff. In late March, Lavingia published a version of the 'munchable' script According That openness may have eventually led to Lavingia's dismissal. Lavingia confirmed he was VA officials have declined to say whether they will continue to use the 'munchable' tool moving forward. But the administration may deploy AI to help the agency replace employees. Documents previously obtained by ProPublica show DOGE officials proposed in March consolidating the benefits claims department by relying more on AI. And the government's contractors are paying attention. After Lavingia posted his code, he said he heard from people trying to understand how to keep the money flowing. 'I got a couple DMs from VA contractors who had questions when they saw this code,' he said. 'They were trying to make sure that their contracts don't get cut. Or learn why they got cut. 'At the end of the day, humans are the ones terminating the contracts, but it is helpful for them to see how DOGE or Trump or the agency heads are thinking about what contracts they are going to munch. Transparency is a good thing.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Skip Microsoft 365 Fees: This Microsoft Office 2021 Download Is Just $49.97
The following content is brought to you by PCMag partners. If you buy a product featured here, we may earn an affiliate commission or other compensation. If you're tired of paying monthly for Microsoft 365, there's a cost-effective solution. You can make a one-time purchase and get a license to Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for just $49.97 (Reg. $219.99) through StackSocial. That means no recurring fees — just unfettered access to the Office tools you use most. This license includes full versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher, and Access, all downloaded directly to your Windows PC. Unlike the cloud-based Microsoft 365 suite, these programs are installed locally, so you won't need an internet connection to use them. And because it's a standalone purchase, you won't be impacted by Microsoft's future subscription price hikes or feature rollbacks. It's also a great option if you rely on apps like Publisher or Access, which aren't included in all newer subscription tiers. This license ensures you'll have the software you need without worrying about losing access due to changing plans or annual costs. Keep in mind: this license is tied to one PC. If you get a new computer, you'll need a new license. But for the lifetime of your current device, it's yours to use with no strings attached. Get a Microsoft Office Professional 2021 license for just $49.97 (Reg. $219.99) and enjoy reliable, full-featured software without monthly payments. Prices subject to change. PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through StackSocial affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.
