CrossFit Scam Artist Is Willing To Cut A Deal

Opportunity!

He was charming. Probably ripped under that suit. Went to Yale. And had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cash in on the biggest fitness craze since the last one. That CrossFit thing. You know, the one where young, attractive people punish their bodies and eat away at their skeletal muscle tissue so that they can remain attractive? (Don’t worry: You won’t need it anymore once you are old, because then you will not be attractive.) Joshua Newman was going to bring CrossFit to the literally dozens of people in New York and New Jersey who do not already have ready access to a CrossFit center or a gym with an ersatz beat-the-hell-out-of-yourself program. All he needed was about $2 million from a dozen or so people, and he was golden. And this was for real: This wasn’t that B.S. film production company he set up, or those go-nowhere dot-coms he was all about for a little while. This was a legit thing—until it wasn’t, and about a dozen or so people were out about $2 million.

Now, the good news: For once in his life, Joshua Newman is going to do the stand-up thing. He’s not going to represent himself and charm you all over again once you’re under oath. No. He’s going to take his medicine. At least as long as prosecutors are willing to offer him a good deal. And don't worry about him. CrossFit means he'll do fine in prison.

Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Joshua B. Newman, a serial entrepreneur accused of defrauding more than a dozen investors out of at least $2 million, are engaged in plea negotiations, according to a June 10 court filing….The negotiations could lead to a disposition of the case before a grand jury is asked to indict Mr. Newman. United States Magistrate Judge Steven Mannion of the Federal District Court in Newark granted a request by prosecutors to postpone a decision on whether to seek an indictment until Aug. 18.

Joshua Newman’s Lawyers in Plea Talks in Fraud Case [DealBook]