Michigan Man Convicted In $8.5 Million Ponzi Scheme Faces More Prison Time
BAY CITY (WWJ/AP) - A 33-year-old Michigan man convicted of defrauding investors of millions of dollars in what prosecutors described as a Ponzi scheme is facing more prison time.
Attorney General Bill Schuette's office says Joel Wilson of Saginaw was convicted Thursday in a Saginaw County courtroom of charges including securities fraud, selling unregistered securities, and larceny by conversion.
Schuette's office says the latest case is a result of Wilson spreading his financial crimes across multiple Michigan counties.
"Unfortunately, this man robbed many hard-working Michigan families of their life savings," Schuette said in a statement. "While these additional convictions will not repay that money, it brings some justice to the victims of this scheme."
A lawyer for Wilson had said he simply failed with his businesses and had no criminal intent.
Last year, Wilson was sentenced in Bay County to more than 8 years to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $6.5 million. He was the owner of The Diversified Group Advisory Fund LLC. He was extradited from Germany in 2014 after being charged.
A sentencing date on the latest charges was not immediately scheduled.
Background on Joel Wilson, Diversified Group
Beginning in 2009, Wilson scammed investors through his operation of The Diversified Group Advisory Fund LLC, an investment company. Wilson told investors that he would use their funds to purchase distressed properties in the Saginaw and Bay City areas. The properties would later be refurbished and sold for profit, which would go to investors.
When funds Wilson collected from the sales of the unregistered securities failed to turn a profit, he used new investor funds to pay returns to previous investors - the trademark of a Ponzi scheme. In addition, Wilson pocketed approximately $583,000 of the investment funds to pay his personal expenses and acquire personal assets.
In 2012, as Attorney General Investigators closed in on Wilson's operation, he fled the country for Germany. Schuette filed multiple criminal charges against Wilson in January 2013 and worked with federal officials to issue a warrant for his arrest in Europe. On January 20, 2014, Wilson was arrested in Germany by Dresden Police. On January 21, 2014, Schuette's office received notification from INTERPOL that Wilson had been arrested by European law enforcement and summarily filed paperwork to extradite Wilson from Germany to face trial for his pending criminal charges in Michigan. Wilson was successfully extradited on May 15, 2014.
Additionally, Wilson failed to disclose the risks associated with the actual investment in question—a highly leveraged real estate investment that could result in the loss of all of the investors' money. Many investors, including senior citizens, risked their life savings.
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