Samuel "Mouli" Cohen

Samuel "Mouli" Cohen (born April 8, 1958) is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and convicted fraudster who claimed to have held the positions of president, chairman, and CEO of several public and private video game companies which, according to Cohen, "have generated over $3 Billion in shareholder value".[6] The companies Cohen has been involved in since the 1980s include: Playnet Technologies, Voltage Capital, LAMIA, Aristo International and Ecast.[7][8][9] In April 2012, Cohen was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for a conviction on 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering and three counts of tax evasion. He is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence at Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution.[10]

Samuel "Mouli" Cohen
Mouli Cohen
Mouli Cohen
Born
Samuel Cohen

(1958-04-08) April 8, 1958[1]
Jerusalem, Israel[2]
NationalityIsraeli-American[2]
Other namesMouli
Occupation(s)ex-entrepreneur, executive, venture capitalist
Criminal statusIncarcerated at FCI Terminal Island; Federal Bureau of Prisons Register #57613-112;
projected release date: November 16, 2029[3]
SpouseStacy Cohen
Conviction(s)November 9, 2011[4]
Criminal chargeWire fraud, money laundering, tax evasion
Penalty22 years imprisonment
Partner(s)Hari Dillon[5]

Career

In the mid-1990s Cohen put together a team of veteran video game producers, engineers, marketing specialists, and executives for Playnet, a public company listed on NASDAQ. Cohen was President, CEO, and Chairman of the company. Employees included Nolan Bushnell, the inventor of Pong and founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese;[11] Joe Ybarra, who worked at Apple before joining Electronic Arts in their startup phase as a producer, and was president of Infocom and Sr. VP of Cheyene Mountain Entertainment;[12] and Glenn Sblendorio, former CFO of Sony Entertainment.[13]

The company developed two main products: A touchscreen controlled "bar top", coin-operated video game machine[14] and a digital jukebox, capable of storing an extremely large selection of songs and able to download new releases.[15] Playnet, later Aristo International, had offices in San Francisco, New York, and Virginia.[13] In October 1997 Playnet announced an agreement with Holiday Inn, a major international hotel chain, to launch a pilot program to install the video game machine in a minimum of six Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza locations across the US.[16] Playnet filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998.

Cohen was the founder of Voltage Capital, a company that Cohen claimed was involved in research and investments in solar energy and other forms of green technology.[17]

Personal life

Cohen was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He migrated to the USA in 1987.[18] He is married to writer and former actress Stacy Cohen, author of the book The Kosher Billionaire's Secret Recipe.[19]

Cohen was featured in the TV series American Greed. An entire episode about his scams were discussed in the Season 7 episode titled: "Dealing in Deceit".[20]

Conviction

In 2009, Mouli Cohen defrauded investors of more than $28 million and two lawsuits were filed.[21] Cohen told investors that his company, Ecast, Inc., was about to be acquired by Microsoft. Based on those false representations, victims purchased some of Cohen's founders' shares in Ecast.[22] A federal grand jury in 2010 indicted Cohen on 32 felony counts of fraud and money laundering,[23] and he was arrested in August 2010.[24] In November 2011, Cohen was found guilty of 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, and three counts of tax evasion. He was acquitted of six additional charges.[4] After the verdict, Cohen was remanded into custody by judge Charles Breyer.[4][25][26]

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said evidence at the trial showed that Cohen collected more than $30 million from defrauding over 55 investors, including actor Danny Glover and the Vanguard Public Foundation (a San Francisco-based nonprofit supported by Glover and Harry Belafonte that funded civil rights efforts).[4][26][27] Cohen was cited as largely responsible for the eventual dissolution of Vanguard in 2011.

Cohen didn't testify at trial and his lawyer said he expected Cohen would appeal the conviction.[26]

At the sentencing hearing, Cohen's lawyer asked for a reduced sentence as recognition of Cohen having given $2 million to charity but the judge said that, "It's other people's money. The fact of the matter is that you gave their money to others and pretended it was yours."[10]

The prosecution described Cohen as a "congenital liar and serial fraudster" and recommended to the court that Cohen be sentenced to between 30 years to life and be denied bail while awaiting sentencing.[28][29] On April 30, 2012, Cohen was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

References
  1. "Samuel Mouli Cohen Superseding Indictment - August 2011". p. 1. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  2. Sadeh, Shuki (May 31, 2012). "The silver tongue and black heart of Mouli Cohen, con-man extraordinaire". Haaretz. Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  3. "Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  4. "Founder and Former CEO of Technology Company Convicted of Defrauding Victims Out of More Than $30 Million" (Press release). San Francisco: U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  5. "Former President And Executive Director Of Vanguard Public Foundation Sentenced To 40 Months In Prison For Fraud And Money Laundering" (Press release). San Francisco: U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. January 29, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  6. "Mouli Cohen (moulicohen) on". Scribd. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  7. "ARISTO INTERNATIONAL CORP (Form: 10KSB, Received: 01/29/1996 00:00:00)". sec.gov. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  8. "Mouli Cohen's Higher Voltage Assets upon Higher Technologies". Mass Track. April 12, 2012. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  9. "PlayNet Files Form 8-K Highlighting Conversion of Debt into Equity, Equity Transactions, and Financing Activities. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. July 31, 1997. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  10. "Ex-executive gets 22 years in massive investment fraud | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". Pressherald.com. May 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  11. "Retro Game And Computer Nolan Bushnell". RetroGameAndComputer.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  12. EA is a Startup. "The Escapist". Escapistmagazine.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  13. "ARISTO INTERNATIONAL CORP (Form: S-1, Received: 10/16/1996 00:00:00)". Yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  14. "Androbot". Nethelper.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  15. "Online Portfolio Sites from Behance || Prosite". Ryanwolfe.prosite.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  16. "PlayNet and Holiday Inn Sign Pilot Program Agreement". Hospitalitynet.org. October 10, 1997. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  17. "Mouli Cohen, Founder of Voltage Capital, Talks about the Past, Present and Future of Solar Power" (PDF). 123seminarsonly.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  18. "Israeli-US businessman gets 22 years for fraud". The Times of Israel. Associated Press. May 2, 2012.
  19. Leibold, Rachel (July 18, 2008). "Leaving on a (private) jet plane: Kosher Billionaire gives readers a glimpse of world-class life". J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
  20. "American Greed: Dealing in Deceit". CNBC.
  21. "Lawsuit says ex-Marin executive defrauded investors". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  22. Elias, Paul (May 1, 2012). "Samuel 'Mouli' Cohen Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison For $30 Million Fraud". Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  23. Egelko, Bob (August 10, 2010). "Fraud suspect indicted; Vanguard among victims". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  24. "Ecast Founder Mouli Cohen Convicted Of $30M Fraud". Vending Times. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  25. ""Red Flags" You Should Have Seen – A Look Back at Mouli Cohen". Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  26. Egelko, Bob (November 11, 2011). "Mouli Cohen guilty in $30 million investment fraud". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  27. "$30 Million Fraud Conviction". November 11, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  28. Elias, Paul (April 30, 2012). "Feds demand convicted con man serve 30 years". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on June 14, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  29. "Mouli Cohen - Government's Response for Bail Pending Sentencing". Scribd.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
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