A former Pacific Palisades resident was found guilty by a federal jury in Orange County of running a smart-ring Ponzi scheme that stole nearly $2 million from investors, after prosecutors said she sold them a fantasy of booming sales, major retail deals, and big-name backing that never existed.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, an Orange County federal jury convicted Michelle Bisnoff, 59, of Boca Raton — a former resident of Pacific Palisades and Santa Barbara who also used the names Michelle Angeline Silverstein and Shelly Silverstein — in a smart-ring Ponzi scheme that drew nearly $2 million from investors.
Jurors found her guilty of six counts of securities fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. Federal prosecutors said the British company McLear Ltd. hired Bisnoff to develop a U.S. market for its patented smart rings, wearable devices that stored credit card information in a ring.
Prosecutors said she then claimed she owned the key patent and set up Esos Rings Inc., which she described to investors as profitable. They also said she told investors their money would fund expansion and that inventory was being shipped to retailers such as Target and Walmart…