Man Charged for Bilking Seniors w/ Streaming Service Investment Scheme

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is charging a man with felony fraud and elderly exploitation counts for deceiving more than 300 victims, many of whom are seniors, into investing in a phony streaming-service company. According to a joint Florida Office of Financial Regulation and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, Anthony Hernandez operated a criminal-fraud scheme defrauding victims by advertising investment opportunities in a streaming-service company, Oi2Go, on television and social media. Over the course of 13 months, Hernandez bilked more than $1.6 million from victims.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This defendant placed misleading advertisements on television and social media, tricking victims, including many seniors, into believing that their investment would bring back big returns. Instead, the defendant used their money to pay personal expenses. Working with state and federal partners, we have shut down this devious investment scheme and will hold the defendant accountable in court.”

OFR Commissioner Russell C. Weigel, III, said, “We will continue to work with our partners to stop financial fraud and protect Floridians from scammers. Thank you to OFR’s investigators, the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Investigative and Forensic Services, and Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution for their hard work to bring this case forward.”

According to the investigation, Hernandez repeatedly misled a total of 327 victims throughout the U.S. to invest with Oi2Go. Twenty-two of the victims are located in Florida. Through television and social media ads, Hernandez promoted Oi2Go as a company with experience in the field of streaming movies and music, and that the company would repeat the achievements of Netflix, Facebook and Amazon in the stock market. Yet, the investigation uncovered that neither Oi2Go nor Hernandez are licensed or registered as brokers or investment advisors.

When prospective investors called the number listed on the advertisements, Oi2Go representatives collected bank account information and authorization to process payments. Provided testimonies expressed that Oi2Go representatives repeatedly called and emailed to push victims into buying more shares.

The investigation revealed that company representatives used verbal strategies to make victims believe Oi2Go was a leader in content and service, with a network of 1,700 online radios and more than 1,000 affiliated radio stations. After further investigation, authorities did not find any evidence of such a network.

Hernandez stole more than $1.6 million from victims nationwide, including more than $140,000 from Floridians. The investigation found that Hernandez spent the money received from victims on an excessive amount of varied personal expenses, salary payments, cash withdrawals, retail and jewelry purchases, restaurants and credit card payments.

Hernandez is charged with one count of organized fraud of $50,000 or more, a first-degree felony; one count of exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult of $50,000 or more, a first-degree felony; exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult of less than $10,000, a third-degree felony; one count of sale of securities by unregistered dealer, a third-degree felony; and one count of cash or deposit with intent to defraud, a third-degree felony.

In addition to these criminal charges, Hernandez will face a civil complaint by the SEC.

Attorney General Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will prosecute the case.