A federal grand jury has indicted two North Texans and a third man for what officials describe as a $364 million Ponzi scheme to defraud investors.
Jay B. Ledford of Westlake and Cameron R. Jezierski of Fort Worth, along with Kevin B. Merrill of Towson, Md., raised money from investors who thought they were buying into cheap portfolios of consumer debt on credit cards and student and auto loans, investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Securities and Exchange Commission said.
Investors were told there was profit to be made by buying the debt, cents on the dollar, and then either collecting the debt or selling it to collection agencies at a profit.
"The defendants lured investors through an elaborate web of lies, duping them into paying millions of dollars into this Ponzi scheme," said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur in a statement.
The trio spent over $73 million of investors' money at casinos and to buy diamond jewelry and luxury cars including Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys and Bugattis, court documents show.
To convince the investors, the men set up fictitious companies and bank accounts and falsified wire transfers and debt collection reports, federal investigators say.
Several local bank accounts — including a JPMorgan Chase branch at North Richland Hills and a Bank of America branch at Colleyville — were used to move millions of dollars.
Victims include small business owners, restaurateurs, construction contractors, retirees, doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, talent agents, professional athletes, and financial advisers based in Maryland, Northern Virginia, Las Vegas, Texas and elsewhere, according to investigators.
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Investor money was also used to buy boats, a share in a jet plane and high-end homes — including at least one each in Oak Cliff and Colleyville, court documents show. At least $25 million was spent on gambling at casinos and to "support a lavish lifestyle," a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland said.
The indictment seeks seizure of nine properties, 26 luxury cars, one boat, 7- and 9-carat diamond rings, and a 23-carat diamond bracelet.
Ledford, Jezierski and Merrill face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. If convicted, the men face up to 20 years in prison.
Editor's note: The story has been updated at 2:40 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2018 to accurately reflect the list of bank accounts used to move money.
