DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY HEDGE FUND
CHARGED IN 38-COUNT INDICTMENTENET

Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and James Beltz, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced that on April 27, 2004, an indictment was returned charging, Armand A. DeAngelis, Marcela DeAngelis, U.S. Coin Exchange, Inc., Coin and Currency Clearing Corp., and Twenty-First Century Grading Service, Inc., with one (1) count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, twelve (12) counts of mail fraud, ten (10) counts of wire fraud, and fifteen (15) counts of money laundering, which consist of ten (10) money laundering promoting counts, and five (5) money laundering spending counts, in connection with a fraudulent gold coin investment scheme carried out through three South Florida corporations that raised approximately $5 million from investors throughout the United States.

The 38-count Indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service concerning the offer and sale to investors of investments in rare gold coins by U.S. Coin Exchange, Inc., which operated in the Coconut Grove area as a purported full service discount gold brokerage firm. Both Coin and Currency Clearing Corp. and Twenty-First Century Grading Service, Inc. operated out of another Miami-area address. Collectively, the three corporations purportedly graded and sold, among other things, rare gold, silver, and other collectible items. Coin and Currency Clearing Corp., which claimed to be an independent clearing house, delivered coins to Twenty-First Century Grading Service, Inc. for grading.

Between March 2000 and June 2003, Armand A. DeAngelis, along with his wife, Marcela DeAngelis, operated the three corporations in a scheme that targeted Christians throughout the United States by advertising in various Christian periodicals. The defendants defrauded customers by, among other things, making material misrepresentations concerning the profitability and risk of loss concerning investments in rare gold coins. Unbeknownst to investors, the defendants had purchased low-grade gold coins and had them graded at a higher grade by Twenty-First Century Grading Service, Inc., a company owned and operated by Armand A. DeAngelis. These inflated coins were then sold to unsuspecting investors at prices two to three times their true value.

Armand A. DeAngelis and Marcela DeAngelis are scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court today at 1:30 p.m. If convicted, Armand A. DeAngelis and Marcela DeAngelis could face five (5) years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud count (Count 1). Armand A. DeAngelis, if convicted, could face twenty (20) years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each mail fraud count (Counts 2 through 13), twenty (20) years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each wire fraud count (Counts 14 through 23), twenty (20) years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each of the ten money laundering promoting counts (Counts 24 through 33), and ten (10) years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each of the five money laundering spending counts (Counts 34 through 38).

Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the U.S Postal Inspection Service, as well as the cooperative efforts of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Boscovich.