Chapter 9: The Ledger of Phantom Claims
In February, the federal forensic investigation concluded its master audit of the Sterling financial empire.
Working alongside forensic accountants from the Internal Revenue Service, Special Agent Clara Higgins unsealed twenty-four shell corporations registered in Delaware and the Cayman Islands.
The evidence was devastating:
* Over five years, the Sterling syndicate had embezzled $14.5 million in fraudulent casualty claims from six major maritime insurance underwriters.
* Evelyn Sterling had systematically fenced the ""stolen"" jewelry through an illegal auction house in Antwerp, laundering the proceeds into private equity funds.
* Arthur Sterling had used his position on the municipal zoning board to extort local business owners and suppress police investigations into his family's activities.
On a freezing Tuesday morning, the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island convened a grand jury in Providence.
Sebastian Harrington took the stand, submitting the uncompressed 4K CCTV files, the cryptographic sensor metadata, and the original physical necklace.
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The grand jury returned thirty-six felony indictments in less than forty-five minutes.
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