A Florida man has pleaded not guilty to two federal wire-fraud charges alleging he solicited money for nonexistent short-term investments, diverted the funds to personal expenses and gambling, and caused victims to lose at least $180,000, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Makaio’ Kekoa is accused of running the alleged scheme between 2019 and February 2022 while residing in Illinois. The seven-page federal indictment identifies four Illinois residents as alleged victims and links the two criminal counts to interstate bank transfers of $50,000 and $5,000. Kekoa now lives in Wimauma, Florida, and was formerly known as Lorenzo Hood, Lorenzo Chryssikos Hood or Zo. He entered his not-guilty plea during an arraignment in Chicago. The next status hearing is scheduled for September 24 before US District Judge Thomas Durkin.
The two charges are tied to specific bank transfers. Count One concerns an interstate transfer of approximately $50,000 made by a person identified as Victim D on June 21, 2021. Count Two concerns another transfer of approximately $5,000 from the same alleged victim on August 17, 2021. Both payments allegedly went into a bank account controlled by Kekoa. Each count carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in federal prison, though any sentence would be determined by the court using federal statutes and advisory sentencing guidelines.
Prosecutors claim no such investment opportunities existed. Kekoa allegedly told prospective investors that he had access to short-term, high-yield investment opportunities, and that he and several associates were placing their own money into the same opportunities. Instead of investing the money, prosecutors allege that Kekoa used it for personal purposes, including gambling.
The most detailed allegation concerns text messages that investors allegedly believed came from Kekoa’s associates. Prosecutors claim Kekoa controlled the phones used to send those messages and caused the communications to appear as though they came from other people. The indictment describes them as “lulling text messages,” stating the messages falsely represented that investor money was being used for the investors’ benefit.
Prosecutors allege that the victims incurred combined losses of at least $180,000. The indictment also seeks a personal forfeiture money judgment for at least that amount if Kekoa is convicted. The Justice Department says restitution would be mandatory if Kekoa is convicted. The indictment does not allege the use of a website, cryptocurrency or fabricated account dashboard, describing instead a structure based on personal solicitation, bank transfers and text messages.
The case is being prosecuted in Chicago because the alleged conduct took place partly in the Northern District of Illinois and the four identified victims lived there. The FBI’s Chicago Field Office is leading the investigation with assistance from authorities in Hillsborough County, Florida. The indictment contains allegations rather than findings of guilt.
