PHILADELPHIA, PA — Henry Ford, known by the alias Cleothus Lefty Jackson, faces charges of securities and wire fraud, according to an announcement by United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero. A grand jury in this district indicted Ford in March 2023, but the charges were kept confidential until Ford’s arrest on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Arizona.
The indictment claims that Ford founded and operated a company named Fallcatcher. This business aimed to develop an electronic system to track medication use by addiction recovery patients to prevent relapse. Prosecutors allege that Ford exhausted investor funds developing this system. In Spring 2018, Ford allegedly sought new investors through an acquaintance in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who had access to a network of potential investors.
In June 2018, Ford reportedly presented to these investors in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. During these sessions, Ford allegedly made false and misleading statements about the investment opportunity and showed a fraudulent letter of interest in Fallcatcher. The indictment asserts that Ford caused his acquaintance to distribute further false statements after these presentations. As a result, approximately 50 investors reportedly invested around $5 million in Fallcatcher.
The indictment also alleges that during an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in late 2018 and early 2019, Ford took steps to conceal his actions. Ford allegedly lied in multiple SEC depositions and, through his counsel, produced a fraudulent email chain to the SEC. In Spring 2019, Ford allegedly accessed Fallcatcher’s investor funds for personal use.
If convicted, Ford faces a potential maximum sentence of 160 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $6,750,000 fine, and an $800 special assessment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the criminal investigation, while the SEC’s New York Regional Office handled the civil securities fraud charges that partially underpin this prosecution.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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