The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina reported that a 56-year-old Spartanburg man would serve two years federal incarceration. This followed an indictment of five counts of wire fraud. Upon his release from prison, he will serve a further three years on supervised release. He was accused of running a type of Ponzi scheme in which he defrauded his clients of more than $3 million.
According to court documents, the man was employed as a financial adviser by one company between 1997 and 2008, and then by another company until 2013. During this time he apparently established a bogus company and convinced clients to invest in it. An Acting U.S. Attorney said the man kept his clients in the dark by creating false financial statements and paying them occasional amounts that he called profits.
Reportedly, he managed to continue running the scheme for more than 10 years. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority instituted a permanent ban from the industry against this man in June 2014. As part of the sentence, the financial adviser must pay restitution exceeding $3.5 million to the clients who were his victims.
Defending wire fraud charges can be extremely complicated. For this reason, South Carolina residents who face such charges commonly seek the support and guidance of an experienced criminal defense attorney. A seasoned lawyer can advocate for an accused person throughout and, if a conviction cannot be avoided, he or she can work on limiting the severity of the sentence. If an appeal is viable, an attorney’s continued support will be available.
Source: greenvilleonline.com, “Greenville broker sentenced in $3 million Ponzi scam“, Anna Lee, Nov. 15, 2016
