Keith Franklin Simmons, 47, of West Jefferson, North Carolina, was sentenced today to 50 years in prison in connection with a $40 million Ponzi scheme he operated, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. also ordered the defendant to serve three years under court supervision following his prison term and to pay $35,331,632 in restitution….
“What makes this case particularly troubling is that from the beginning, this defendant had no intention of investing a single dime of the victims’ money,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins. “Simmons made slick presentations to his victims about lucrative investment returns that were filled with lies and deceit. Simmons was a con artist who pocketed people’s savings to finance his own lavish lifestyle and went to great lengths to cover up his crimes. The impact of Simmons’ fraud has been devastating to his victims, who trusted him with their hard-earned money. I want to caution potential investors before they turn over their life’s investments to pay close attention to sales pitches that promise large returns on investments. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
“Keith Simmons preyed on the elderly and the vulnerable, swindling his victims out of millions of dollars. This case is a stark reminder to the con artists who run these schemes that they will face lengthy prison sentences, and it is a lesson to investors to be cautious and to question promises of large payoffs,” said Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Charlotte.
FBI press release link: click here