Permanent Injunction and Industry Bar Obtained Against Ohio Ponzi Schemer

Defendant, a former Ashland, Ohio broker, was permanently enjoined for conducting a Ponzi scheme in which he solicited at least 140 investors to invest millions in a supposed “hedge fund” and other investment vehicles, guaranteeing an annual rate of return and promising to make up any losses out of his own pocket. In reality, he misappropriated investor funds, using them to finance an unrelated personal business, pay personal expenses, and reimburse or pay “investment returns” to earlier investors. To further the scheme, he mailed false monthly client statements to investors reflecting securities holdings and returns that did not exist. He was also barred from the industry and sentenced to five years in prison.