He earned a small towns trust. He owed $95 million in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme
Hamılton, NY (AP) – Miles “Burt” Marshall for decades if you had some money to invest, but if you wanted to keep local, it was the man you went to see once outside the city of New York.
Working from an office in the village of Hamilton, Charming prepared Marshall taxes on the road from the University of Colgate and sold insurance. In addition, regardless of the financial markets, it received money for what is called “8% funds olan, which guarantees too much annual interest.
He spread customers to the family and friends. Is there a pension nest egg? Let Burt be handled. He will invest in local rental properties and your money will grow faster than a bank.
Marshall, Dost and Folksy. “Don’t be a handle. For the scope of the appropriate insurance, Miles B. Marshall gave a gift bags with maple syrup, pickles and local honey in jars tagged with cute words such as Marshall”.
A customer Christine Corrigan said, “He was going to talk about all other people who invest in you. Churches invest in investment. Firefighters invest. Doctors invest,” he said. “So, ‘Well, they are smart people.
Then everything collapsed.
According to the Board of Trustees, when Marshall applied for bankruptcy protection two years ago, he owed approximately 1000 people and the organization to approximately $ 95 million.
This summer, 73 -year -old businessman was accused of investment business a ponzi plan. It can be sentenced to prison if it is convicted.
Marshall’s lawyers refrained from commenting.
Total losses of Marshall’s investors Bernie Madoff. However, approximately 6,400 people are small, in the town of college and largely in the rural environment.
Many investors were Colgate professors, workers, office workers or retirees. Some have lost dozens of or hundreds of thousands of dollars of their lives. Corrigan and 48 kilometers east to 30 miles (48 kilometers) owed his husband about $ 1.5 million.
Now they are wondering how he can betray the confidence of someone who looks so reliable, holding annual parties for their customers and even looking for birthdays.
Dennis Sullivan, who owes approximately $ 40,000, said, “You look at life differently after this. ‘Who do you trust?’ He said, “He’s sad to do it to the region.”
Marshall and his wife lived in a brick Victoria, blocks his office. In addition to insurance and tax preparation, he rented more than 100 properties and operated a self -storage and a printing shop.
His parents had run an insurance and Realty business in the region, and the name Marshall was respected locally.
Despite his departure from the university, he was a federal tax expert. For many people in the region, he seemed knowledgeable about money and held a clean office.
Corrigan had a French gates, a beautiful carpet and a large table, and it only looked like prosperous and reliable, Cor said Corrigan.
In the 1980s, Marshall began to receive money from people to buy and maintain rental properties. People took the deed notes back – the dollar amount is shifting paper. Withdrawal transactions can make a 30 -day notification. People can choose to receive regular interest payments.
Participants saw transactions as investment. Marshall called them credit.
Marshall did good for many years to pay interest and promises to withdrawal transactions. More people joined the word spread. Sullivan remembers how his family gave Marshall to Marshall, then my fiancée, then his fiancé’s daughter, then his son and even snow motorcycle club.
“Everyone is having a snowball, Sull Sullivan said.
A few investors lived in other states, but they had connections with the region.
8 % of the promise of returns was not remarkable with higher interest rates in the 80s. However, as the rates fell, it was later outstanding. Marshall, a bankruptcy case, the discretion on the real estate assumed that the debts meet.
“This is clearly wrong,” he said, “But I always thought.”
The money stopped flowing until 2023.
Marshall has applied for April 11 bankruptcy protection and declared more than $ 90 million in most real estates and declared $ 21.5 million assets.
In a file, he announced that he had been taken to hospital because of a “serious heart condition olan, which required two surgeries and costs $ 600,000. As the news of his illness spread, there was a run that wanted the note owners’ money back.
Fred Stevens, the Bankruptcy Board of Trustees, accused Marshall’s bankruptcy of clumsy business practices and more than the market. Until 2011, the Board of Trustees claimed that Marshall used new investment money to pay to previous investors, the distinctive feature of a ponzi plan.
Prosecutors claim that Marshall wrongly represents the profitability of real estate business and constitutes “transactions summaries” with false information about the account balances of the staff and the interest earned.
According to the prosecutors, money became funnel to other businesses and spent the dollar of hundreds of thousands of investors, including airline travel, food, food and yoga studios.
Marshall’s customers feel betrayed.
Barbara Baltusnik investment, “We left to accumulate. Eh, accumulated in his pocket,” he said.
Marshall was not found guilty of the accusations of great theft and securities fraud in June. He’s accused of stealing more than $ 50 million.
Marshall’s house and property Sold as part of bankruptcy ongoing cases. People who give their money to Marshall stand to compensate about 5.4 cents on the dollar from asset sales. According to the Board of Trustees, potential allegations against financial institutions are observed.
Baltusnik is wondering how he and his husband owe hundreds of thousands of dollars and now he will pay the bills of doctors. Sullivan’s mother moved to him after losing his investment.
EPWorth will not see the money he hopes to increase his retired Carolyn call in Georgia. He learned Marshall if he had a uncle living in New York.
“I can only pay my bills and continue,” he said. “There is nothing exaggerated. No trip. He can’t do much for his grandchildren.”
