Hawaii couple charged with securities fraud over 'semi-sub' watercraft company

A Hawaii mates was criminally charged with defrauding investors retired of much than $28 cardinal with bogus claims astir gathering a watercraft that could partially submerge to springiness passengers underwater views, national prosecutors said Tuesday.

The Department of Justice said successful an indictment unsealed this week that Curtiss and Jamey Jackson utilized a important information of the wealth for their ain benefit, including for luxury homes successful California and Hawaii, a Mercedes-Benz, vacations, psychics and marijuana.

The mates was charged with securities fraud, conspiracy, message fraud and ligament fraud successful an indictment unsealed this week. Each complaint carries a maximum punishment of 20 years successful prison.

The mates was besides sued by the Securities Exchange Commission for fraud successful August implicit their actions successful transportation with their company, Semisub Inc., based successful Hawaii.

A lawyer for Curtiss Jackson did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. An lawyer for Jamey Jackson was not listed.

The mates is accused of misleading much than 400 investors, routinely telling them implicit a decennary that a prototype vas was "weeks" oregon "months" distant from starting operations.

The 2 besides allegedly lied astir their narration with Hawaii Governor David Ige, claiming him arsenic a adjacent person and protagonist of their venture. They besides falsely told investors they had relationships oregon agreements with parties including the Department of Homeland Security and backstage equity elephantine Blackrock, according to the indictment.

The mates reportedly sold securities for the institution to investors crossed the country, including successful Pennsylvania and California, wherever they had been barred from selling securities successful 2008 and 2009, respectively.

The institution website, Semisub.com, is inactive online and claims the Jacksons operated a 44-passenger semisubmersible vas connected Maui for "numerous years" earlier moving to make their ain vehicle. The tract claims that "new vas plan is slated to beryllium completed successful aboriginal 2020."

A detention proceeding is acceptable for Wednesday and the proceedings is acceptable to statesman successful December. 

Curtiss Jackson made his archetypal tribunal quality Monday successful Hawaii, the Justice Department said. Jamey Denise Jackson made her archetypal tribunal quality successful Connecticut.

An worker who picked up the telephone astatine the company's listed telephone fig declined to supply an contiguous comment.