ICE HSI investigation leads to a fourth guilty plea in the Rockford Group case

NEW YORK – A former officer of the Rockford Group plead guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors of more than $10 million. The guilty plea follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the United States Secret Service (USSS).

Genadi Yagodayev, 37, is the fourth conviction in connection with the investigation into Rockford Group.

From approximately December 2008 to November 2009, Yagodayev and his co-conspirators participated in a fraudulent investment scheme through a company called the Rockford Group. The Rockford Group marketed itself as a “leading private equity firm,” and claimed to invest in plaintiffs’ rights to future recoveries in personal injury and other lawsuits, and promised a 15 percent return on their investments. The Rockford Group, however, never invested in any lawsuits. Instead, nearly all of the investors’ funds were wired to bank accounts overseas. Approximately 200 investors in the United States and Canada lost approximately $11 million as a result of this scheme.

After the scheme collapsed, Yagodayev fled to Israel. In 2014, he was apprehended while traveling to Cyprus and was extradited to the United States later that year.