A Toronto man is set to serve a significant prison sentence due to his involvement in a multi-million-dollar fraudulent scheme that involved pink diamond investments.
Paragon International Wealth Management Inc. was founded in 2013 by James Gagliardini. However, the real intent behind starting it was to deceive investors in high-value, colored diamonds that didn’t exist. Victims were persuaded through phone calls to put their money into pink stones from the Argyle mine in Australia. Paragon continued this scheme for five years until Canadian authorities initiated a raid in 2018. The company was shut down, but the conman managed to defraud around 200 people.
Although fraudulent tactics have changed due to technological advancement, with online scams and cyber fraud being the leaders, high-value investment fraud schemes still may involve direct communication. Jack Gagliardini and people like him continue to engage victims directly. He contacted his targets by phone or text messages over a period of time and promised they would earn more by investing more money. In general, people lost more than $21 million due to these illegal actions.
Once it became clear that most of the scheme’s victims were from the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an indictment against four individuals involved in the fraud. All defendants ultimately pleaded guilty, and Gagliardini received a sentence of 56 months in prison.
