U.S. Charges Greenwich Couple with Defrauding Investors

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and MARK J. MERSHON, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field Office, announced that PHILIPPE and MILANA MURCIA of Greenwich, Connecticut, were arrested and charged with conspiring to defraud investors in a company they control, Regenat USA Holding Corporation. The Complaint, filed in White Plains federal court, alleges that since at least April 2004, the MURCIAs induced several individuals to invest or maintain their investment in Regenat USA Holding Corporation, which the MURCIAs represented to be a closely held corporation that recycled timber and waste; produced wood, charcoal, and biomass fuel; and purified water. The MURCIAs claimed, among other things, that in March 2004 Regenat was awarded a $2.5 million contract by Sodexho International to supply 45 water treatment stations in Sudan along an oil pipeline that would run from Libya to the Red Sea. Sodexho, however, has no record of any dealings with Regenat and did no business in Sudan between 2000 and 2005. The MURCIAs also claimed that Regenat was preparing to undertake an initial public offering, although none of the investment banks with which Regenat was purportedly negotiating have records of any such client dealings with Regenat. Four investors were persuaded to invest a total of more than $1.5 million in Regenat. The MURCIAs diverted a substantial portion of the investment in Regenat to their own personal use. Regenats bank account records show numerous personal expenses, including substantial transfers to the MURCIAs personal bank account, rent payments for the MURCIAs residence, six-figure transfers to relatives, and more than $400,000 in debit card purchases and withdrawals from automatic teller machines. These purchases include a payment of over $8,000 for PHILIPPE MURCIAs 60th birthday dinner; multiple purchases of over $1,000 each at jewelry stores; clothing purchases; and a purchase of more than $5,000 at Best Buy. PHILIPPE and MILANA MURCIA were presented in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge GEORGE A. YANTHIS this afternoon. Bail was set in the amount of $200,000 each, secured by $10,000 and two co-signers. A preliminary hearing was set for February 6 at 9 a.m. In the Complaint, PHILIPPE and MILANA MURCIA are each charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries, upon conviction, a maximum of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense. Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney BRENT WIBLE is in charge of the prosecution. The charge contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.