The former owner of Playgirl magazine, once dubbed the “Invisible man” of porn, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud for misleading investors in another of his companies — one that made high-interest loans to small businesses.
Carl R. Ruderman, 82, was chairman and chief executive officer of 1 Global Capital LLC, a commercial lending company that filed for bankruptcy in July 2018. Federal authorities said he took part in a $250 million scheme that affected more than 3,400 investors in 42 states.
The Florida businessman admitted to spending millions in investors’ money to cover his own credit card and mortgage payments, personal vacations, costs for his Mercedes-Benz and nannies for his children, according to the Southern District of Florida Attorney’s Office.
Ruderman — who famed “Screw” publisher Al Goldstein had once dubbed the “Invisible man” of porn” — pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Miami. Court records show sentencing is set for Jan. 3, and he faces up to five years in prison and forfeiture of more than $250 million.
Securities and Exchange Commission filings obtained by The Wall Street Journal revealed that at least $28 million raised by 1 Global investors funded Ruderman’s luxurious lifestyle.
Investors reportedly believed they were spending their money on merchant cash advance loans — which are usually taken out when a business immediately needs cash to cover day-to-day expenses — and were told “that they could expect double-digit returns on their investments, among other things,” according to the Florida attorney’s office.
Ruderman was reportedly injecting Global 1 investors’ funds into his dental-financing firm Bright Smile Financing, payday lender Ganador Enterprises and adult-magazine owner Digi South, which previously owned adult magazines including Playgirl, Cheri and High Society, according to The Journal.
Playgirl, which the Ruderman Family Trust owned throughout its heyday in the 1970s and ’80s, folded in 2015. However, it relaunched two years later under the ownership of Jack Lindley Kuhns.
An SEC revealed that Digi South — which used the same address as 1 Global — “received approximately $805,000 in investor funds from 1 Global for no consideration or legitimate services.”
Ruderman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud on Thursday, and was sentenced to five years behind bars.
Ruderman — who also owned pornography periodical High Society, which is still in circulation — did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
His former company 1 Global, which is no longer in business after going bankrupt in 2018, could not be reached for comment.
Four of Ruderman’s co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty for their role in the fraud, according to the Florida attorney’s office, including 1 Global’s former chief financial officer Alan Heide, 65, who was sentenced to 60 months behind bars and ordered to pay $57 million in restitution to the scheme’s victims.
Lawyer Andrew Dale Ledbetter, 81, also received a 60-month prison sentence, and was ordered to pay $148 million in restitution.
Steven Allen Schwartz, 78, a 1 Global director, and lawyer Jan Douglas Atlas, 78, were sentenced to 24 months and eight months, respectively, and must dish out $36 million and $29 million in restitution, respectively.
