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Upstate New York man pleads guilty to stealing more than $50M in Ponzi scheme
Marshall admitted using new investor money to pay earlier victims and personal expenses in a scheme that left 988 investors owed about $90 million.
On Tuesday, Miles Burton Marshall pleaded guilty to grand larceny, securities fraud, and scheme to defraud in Madison County Court, facing four to 12 years in prison when sentenced on June 11.
For decades, Marshall solicited investments into his so-called "Eight Percent Fund," falsely promising high returns while operating a classic Ponzi scheme by using money from new investors to pay interest to previous ones.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stated Marshall stole over $50 million from 988 investors, leaving him owing approximately $90 million in principal and interest, with many losing their life savings.
Marshall spent his investors' funds on personal luxuries, including travel, restaurants, and shopping, rather than the promised real estate investments that Attorney General James said he claimed to finance.
After filing for bankruptcy with less than $22 million in assets, Marshall faces sentencing on June 11, though victim Dennis Sullivan wrote, "I don't feel justice was served.