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Couple accused of bilking Christians
A 38-count federal indictment says a Miami couple used Christian publications to market a fraudulent gold-coin scheme.
A Miami husband-and-wife team that used Christian magazines to market supposedly precious coins will be judged under the laws of man — for allegedly scamming customers of millions of dollars.
Armand A. DeAngelis and his wife, Marcela Ospina-Cardona, were the proprietors of several Coconut Grove-area companies, including U.S. Coin Exchange, Twenty-First Century Grading Service and the Coin and Currency Clearing Corp.
They’re now defendants in a 38-count federal indictment, returned this week, that carries the potential for millions of dollars in fines and decades in prison.
Both indicated that they would plead not guilty.
DeAngelis, however, is already in danger of going behind bars — for violation of probation following a 1991 securities-law conviction in New Jersey. A hearing that could produce prison time in that case is scheduled for next month.
Following his New Jersey conviction, DeAngelis relocated to Miami and, in 2000, created the companies engaged in coin trading. He eventually took to advertising in such magazines as Christian Century, Christianity Today, Christian Parenting Today and Pulpit Helps.
The U.S. Coin Exchange billed itself as ”the leading Christian gold dealer” and told investors that they could expect to double or triple their investments in a matter of months.
Said DeAngelis’ attorney, Steve Chaykin: “He’s a religious man.”
The indictment tells a different story. It says respondents to the ads received materials that warned “of an alleged impending financial crisis facing the economy while touting the purported benefits of investing in gold.”
Unbeknown to the would-be investors, the allegedly independent company rating the coins’ value, a practice known as grading, was Twenty-First Century Grading Service — also owned by DeAngelis.
His wife ran the allegedly independent clearinghouse brokering the deals and, behind the scenes, ensured that the coins received inflated grades, the indictment says.
The arrangement certainly produced nice returns for the couple, who live in a Pinecrest-area home that’s on the market for upward of $3.5 million.
”From in or around March 2000 through in or around June 2003, the defendants raised over $5 million through the sale of supposedly rare gold coins worldwide,” according to the indictment.
Chaykin said his client had done nothing wrong. The value of an investment coin, the defense attorney said, is subjective.
”Mr. DeAngelis operated a legitimate, lawful business in selling rare gold coins and is confident he did not violate any laws,” Chaykin said.
Sam Rabin, attorney for Ospina-Cardona, said his client ”intends to fight the charges vigorously.” He added that she knew little about her husband’s business activities.
At a hearing before Federal Magistrate Robert Dube, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Boscovich requested $500,000 bail for Ospina-Cardona. It was placed at $200,000. She needs post $20,000 to be released.
Boscovich also argued that DeAngelis was a flight risk and, as such, should remain in jail. He noted that DeAngelis had traveled extensively to Central America and the Caribbean.
Chaykin countered that most of those trips were to Costa Rica “for spiritual reasons.”
In any case, DeAngelis is unlikely to be going back there in the near future. Dube slapped him with $1 million bail and electronic monitoring and restricted his travel rights to South Florida and New Jersey.
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