U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of New Jersey
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Nevada woman has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for orchestrating a $7 million advance-fee Ponzi scheme and obstructing the federal government’s investigation, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced today.
Anna Kline, 35, formerly known as Jordana Weber, of Sparks, Nevada, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn in Camden federal court to two counts of wire fraud. In addition to the prison term, Judge O’Hearn sentenced Kline to three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $3,403,000 in restitution to her victims.
Fraudulent Advance-Fee Scheme
According to court documents and statements made during proceedings, from April 2017 to July 2019, Kline operated several shell companies that falsely claimed to provide high-value business loans—often exceeding $100 million. These entities targeted small business owners in need of financing, requiring upfront payments of up to 5% of the proposed loan amount as an advance fee.
After collecting these fees, Kline misled clients by claiming she was conducting due diligence, frequently offering fraudulent explanations for delays in funding. Victims were provided with falsified bank records and documents designed to suggest that Kline’s entities possessed sufficient funds to disburse the promised loans.
Instead of using the funds for legitimate lending purposes, Kline and her partner, Jason Torres, used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle, including luxury vehicles, expensive artwork, vacations, and day-to-day expenses. A portion of the money was also used to repay earlier victims in classic Ponzi scheme fashion. In total, at least six victims transferred approximately $7 million to accounts controlled by Kline.
Obstruction of the Federal Investigation
Following her arrest in July 2019, Kline further obstructed justice while out on bail. She submitted falsified digital evidence to federal investigators, including a fabricated Cellebrite report in .pdf format, which purported to show threatening iMessages from Torres implicating him as the mastermind behind the scheme.
A forensic analysis revealed the report was a forgery. Investigators also discovered Kline had presented the fake Cellebrite report to a California Family Court as part of a custody dispute. During those proceedings, she falsely claimed the report had been generated by a digital forensic expert named “Drew Andrews,” who was later revealed to be a fictitious persona created by Kline.
Kline also provided the government with a computer she claimed contained a backup of the alleged messages. Forensic examination determined the data had been manipulated, including altered time stamps designed to support the false narrative that “Andrews” had generated the Cellebrite report in April 2020.
Investigation and Prosecution
U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, for leading the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
