Ponzi Scheme

Micah Christopher Wilson of Gastonia, North Carolina was accused last week of defrauding investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Law enforcement agents with the North Carolina Secretary of State's Securities Division charged Wilson two counts of felony securities fraud and two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Authorities believe Wilson conned several victims in Gaston and nearby counties, persuading them to invest money with him and his company, Creative Financial Concepts, Inc. Allegedly, Wilson told investors they would earn at minimum eight percent interest on their principal in an unspecified investment. Wilson, however, spent the money on himself and used it to pay other investors. Additionally, he failed to notify investors that he was not registered to sell securities. Wilson is being held at the Gaston County Jail under a $1 million bond. Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall stated, “This is an ongoing investigation. We strongly urge anyone who believes they may be a victim of [...]

William Wise, a former broker from Raleigh, North Carolina, has been sentenced to over 21 years in federal prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of more than $75 million. In April, a federal judge will determine how much restitution Wise will have to pay his victims. Wise ran Millennium Bank from a west Raleigh office. It was purported to be a unit of a Swiss bank based on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. However, Wise later stated that it was really a front for a Ponzi scheme. Millennium promised investors a 16 percent return on certificates of deposit, but Wise and co-defendant Jacqueline Hoegel used investors' money to repay earlier investors and fund lavish lifestyles for themselves. The Ponzi scheme ran from 1999 to late March 2009. Wise admitted that, from January 2004 to March 2009 alone, he and Hoegel sold more than $129.5 million worth of bogus CDs to more than 1,200 investors, resulting [...]