GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A mid-Michigan man accused of running a Ponzi scheme will have to pay his victims restitution estimated at $1.3 million as part of his guilty plea to federal wire fraud charges.
U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis says 28-year-old Mark Richard Hamlin, 28, of Williamston faces up to 20 years' imprisonment in addition to the restitution payments.
Davis says Hamlin admitted recruiting investors in his stock trading company by promising higher than market rate returns.
Hamlin concealed his losses by e-mailing account statements that falsely assured investors they were earning sizeable profits and accumulating large balances.
The prosecutor says Hamlin further concealed his insolvency by diverting new investors' money to pay earlier investors. Besides paying "earnings," Hamlin used some of the investor money to pay for his rent, automobiles and jewelry.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
