Local Attorney Sentenced for Wire Fraud Related to $70 Million Ponzi Scheme

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/local-attorney-sentenced-wire-fraud-related-70-million-ponzi-scheme

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Ohio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 9, 2017

Local Attorney Sentenced for Wire Fraud Related to $70 Million Ponzi Scheme

DAYTON – Steven Scudder, 62, of Centerville, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a fraudulent investment scheme. Scudder pleaded guilty to wire fraud on January 19, and admitted that he used his position as an attorney to facilitate the fraudulent investment scheme operated by someone else.
(snip)

Court documents state that between July 2013 and July 2014, Scudder served as trustee of the WMA Trust, a land trust that purported to secure investments that individuals had made with William Apostelos. Scudder ultimately resigned from this position during mid-summer 2014. Scudder said Apostelos instructed him to continue to falsely hold himself out as the trustee of the WMA Trust until September 2014. Based on Scudder’s false representations, an investment group of approximately 10 people in another state invested more than $1 million with Apostelos. Apostelos used the funds to pay earlier investors rather than investing the money as promised.

Apostelos pleaded guilty in February for conducting a $70 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded nearly 500 victims. He is scheduled for sentencing at 9:30am on June 30.
(snip)

[judesedit]

1. 14 months in prison for bilking $70 million???? You can get 2-4 years for stealing $1000

How effed up is that????

[TexasTowelie]

2. The most damning part is that Scudder resigned his position as a trustee

and double-downed afterwards falsely representing that he was still a trustee to give legitimacy to the scheme.

Considering that he could have received up to 20 years, fourteen months is lenient for the crime. It does not state exactly how much he profited from the scheme, how much he must pay in restitution, or if he cooperated in the prosecution of major players of the scheme to mitigate his sentence; but my impression is that 5-10 years would be a more appropriate sentence.

[judesedit]

5. Agree. Only if Scudder cooperated

[BlueMTexpat]

3. Exactly!

[mdbl]

4. sentencing for white collar crime is kind of lopsided

always has been.