Volodimyr Pigida, 49, of Miami, Florida, United States is a former resident of Bellevue, Washington, USA. Born in Ukraine, he is a naturalized U.S. citizen
Pigida and his wife Marina Bondarenko, 40, formed Trend Sound Promoter AMG Corp., a company that was supposed to conduct advertising and music promotion over the internet. They sold ad-promoting packages and told those purchasing them that they could make big money for sending emails on behalf of the company.
Over time, the company brought in more than $22 million and the victims who bought the packages lost more than $11 million. Pigida and Bondarenko eventually transferred $3.3 million out of the company for their personal benefit.
Between May 2013 and March 2014, Pigida and Bondarenko spent more than $3 million to buy a yacht, four properties and several vehicles. Their company filed for bankruptcy protection and they tried to conceal $3,334,750 in assets from the bankruptcy court and creditors.
In November 2018, Pigida and Bondarenko were indicted for conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud. In September 2019, she pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud and was sentenced to 38 months in prison.
On December 1, 2022, Pigida was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington of 26 counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and bankruptcy fraud. On August 4, 2023, he failed to return to the court for his sentencing hearing so a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On October 24, 2023, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Pigida in Florida after a standoff that lasted for hours. On October 25, 2023, he will appear in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
CONAN Daily 