Boca businessman Platten gets prison for fraud scheme

WEST PALM BEACH — A Boca Raton businessman will be spending the better part of the next two decades — or more — in federal prison for his conviction on securities, mortgage and tax fraud charges.

Federal Judge Donald Middlebrooks on Tuesday sentenced Donald Platten of Boca Raton to 262 months in prison, plus three  years’ of supervised release for a scheme that involved using the stock of his company, Harvard Learning Centers, to pay off bogus promissory notes that had been issued in its name. The court will schedule a hearing within the next 90 days to determine the amount of restitution Platten owes to the victims.

In August 2009, federal court convicted Platten of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, six counts of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and violating tax laws. Platten was found not guilty on eight additional counts of securities fraud.

Over a three-year period, Platten had Harvard Learning  issue more than $1 million in stock to his wife, his sister,  his ex-sister-in-law, and his limousine driver supposedly as repayment of loans the four supposedly had made to the company.

The money instead, mostly went to Platten to pay off his own debts and those of his family members including his wife, his mother, his sister, and a teenage son.

Platten failed to file corporate federal tax returns for Harvard Learning for 2004 through 2007 and failed to file his personal federal tax returns for the years 2004 and 2005. For the year 2006, Platten failed to report the income that he received from his stock scheme.

Eli Goldshor, Platten’s former limousine driver, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and willfully failing to file tax returns. In September 2009, Goldshor was sentenced by Federal Judge William Zloch to 18 months in prison for his role in the offense. Judith Massaro, Platten’s ex-sister-in-law, pleaded guilty to obstructing the internal revenue laws and is serving three years probation.