The Scheme

The government's investigation revealed that Allou's top officers and controlling shareholders participated in a long-running corporate fraud scheme that looted Allou and plunged it into bankruptcy in April 2003, destroying the holdings of thousands of investors. Prior to its bankruptcy, Allou, which distributed health and beauty aids and pharmaceuticals, was a public company traded on the American Stock Exchange and was one of the largest companies on Long Island with approximately 300 employees and over $500 million in reported annual revenues.

Federal prosecutors said the Jacobowitzs engaged in a scheme to defraud both Allou's creditors and shareholders by issuing false and misleading financial statements to its lenders and to the investing public. .

During the course of the long-running scheme, which began in 1991, Allou had a line of credit from a syndicate of banks that permitted it to borrow an amount equal to 60% of the value of its inventory and 85% of the value of its accounts receivable. Allou's top officers fabricated documentation for hundreds of millions of dollars in non-existent inventory and sales in order to increase the funds Allou could borrow under its line of credit. Specifically, Allou funds were sent to entities controlled by Aaron Jacobowitz for phantom purchases of inventory, and then a portion of these funds were sent back to Allou in payment of bogus invoices reflecting non-existent sales. Thus, the defendants engaged in a circular movement of funds to inflate inventory and accounts receivable in order to fraudulently increase Allou's borrowing power. As part of this scheme, the defendants siphoned millions of dollars from Allou for their personal enrichment by laundering more funds through the Jacobowitz-affiliated companies than was returned by these companies to Allou. 6

In April 2003, as a result of the unraveling of the defendants' fraudulent scheme, Allou was forced into bankruptcy and trading in its stock was halted. As a result of Allou's bankruptcy, the shares of Allou common stock held by the investing public are now virtually worthless. It is estimated that Allou's lenders lost approximately $130 million as a result of the scheme.

They Burn Down The Company Warehouse For Insurance Money

On Sept. 25, 2002, between 11 p.m. and midnight, a three-alarm fire broke out at a warehouse located at 80 Evergreen Ave., Brooklyn. Approximately 245 firefighters responded to the blaze, with two suffering injuries. The Evergreen warehouse stored health and beauty aid products, fragrances, and cosmetics for Allou.