Couple charged in Hawaii tourist boat fraud scheme that netted $28M from 400 investors, prosecutors say
A couple is facing criminal charges after federal prosecutors said they defrauded hundreds of investors out of $28 million with false claims about building a watercraft that could partially submerge to give passengers underwater views.
Curtiss Jackson, 69, and Jamey Jackson, 59, used a large sum of the money for their own benefit, including for luxury homes in California and Hawaii, a Mercedes-Benz, vacations, psychics and marijuana, the Department of Justice announced in an indictment unsealed this week.
According to court documents, the married couple, respectively Semisub’s CEO and President, would use funds raised from the sale of securities to develop and build a fleet of semi-submersible vessels for tourism and other commercial purposes and raised over $28 million from more than 400 investors.
Curtiss Jackson lives in Honolulu and his wife currently lives in Lake Worth, Florida, prosecutors said.
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For more than 10 years, court papers show, the defendants allegedly told investors that a purported prototype vessel, dubbed “Semisub One,” was weeks or months away from beginning operations when it was not.
A Semisub website listing Jackson as as CEO and founder said construction and sales of a new fleet of vessels would be completed by Fall 2020.
The release also states the couple allegedly claimed Semisub had entered into agreements or developed relationships with government agencies and a well-known private equity firm to build and sell a fleet of additional vessels for $32 million each.
The couple was charged with securities fraud, conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud in the indictment unsealed on Monday. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawaii Semisub tourism boat company charged in yearslong fraud scheme
