NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Three people were charged with wire-fraud for allegedly trying to use the family name of the New York Guggenheims to promote fake investment opportunities.
Two of the three charged on Monday, David Birnbaum, 67, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Vladimir Zuravel, 45, of Queens, N.Y., were arrested, but Catarina Pietra Toumei, 45, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., is still at large, the New York Daily News and the New York Post reported.
The Guggenheim family business involves financial services and is the founder of New York City's Guggenheim Art Museum.
Birnbaum and Zuravel were released on bond and all face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted, the newspaper said.
Birnbaum and Zuravel allegedly identified themselves in phone calls to potential victim investors as "David B. Guggenheim" and "Vladimir Z. Guggenheim," court documents indicated.
The three allegedly tried to lure people, such as the family of former President George W. Bush and Coca-Cola executives, into phony investments including a $4 billion sale of crude oil and a $1 billion sale of diamonds and a vodka distribution deal, the newspapers reported.
None of the intended victims actually gave any business to the alleged scammers, prosecutors said.
The authentic Guggenheims are suing the three for their alleged use of the family's name to defraud potential investors, the newspapers said.
