Howard Markowitz, sentenced for role in First Call Ventures fraud

The former CFO of First Call Ventures LLC was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in scheme that resulted in $2 million in losses for investors.

North Miami Beach resident Howard Markowitz was sentenced Sept. 11 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Markowitz, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, was also ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution.

He was the last of five defendants sentenced in connection with the First Call Ventures scheme. The Parkland-based company was a direct-to-consumer marketing firm that generated sales leads for businesses in the moving and transport industry. First Call Ventures was the parent company of First Call Movers & Transport of Florida, which brokered customer moves for other moving companies.

According to prosecutors, Markowitz and his co-defendants – including former CEO Thomas Michael White – made false statements to investors while selling stock in First Call Ventures and its subsidiaries from 2012 to 2014. Victims were told they could expect 100 percent returns on their investments and that First Call Ventures would generate more than $15 million in annual sales, court documents said. White was convicted of mail and wire fraud charges in early 2019.

The company, however, was on the verge of insolvency and used more than 80% of victims' investments to pay for the salaries and personal expenditures of company principals, according to a joint investigation by the FBI and Florida Office of Financial Regulation. First Call Ventures also used new investor money to pay prior investors' interest payments to create the illusion the company was successful, court documents said.

Markowitz and his co-defendants solicited more than $1.9 million in investments during the course of the scheme. At least 12 senior citizens who invested in First Call Ventures had their retirement savings drained by the scam, prosecutors said.

Samuel J. Rabin Jr., an attorney representing Markowitz, said his client is "remorseful" for associating with the scheme's co-defendants and his own role in the fraud.

"In a genuine demonstration of contrition, [Markowitz] paid $600,000 to the victims of the fraud, a sum representing significantly more than he made as a result of his participation," Rabin said.