Las Vegas lawyer to plead guilty for running ‘massive’ Ponzi scheme
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An attorney who ran a half-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme to fund his lavish lifestyle and pay off gambling debts is expected to plead guilty, 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Matthew Beasley agreed to plead guilty to five counts of wire fraud, according to documents. a federal grand jury votes to indict In 2023.
The maximum sentence Beasley could face is 100 years in prison plus a $1.25 million fine and probation. As part of the agreement, federal prosecutors will recommend a sentence less than legally required, according to the documents.
Prosecutors first charged Beasley in 2022 following a shooting involving FBI agents at his home near 215 Beltway and Ann Road on March 3, 2022.
Beasley has been charged before Authorities say a federal officer was charged with assault because he pointed a gun at an FBI agent when they came to his home to talk about the investigation. After his arrest, the department said Beasley refused to drop his gun, leading an agent to shoot him. This criminal case was later dismissed.
Investigators said More than 600 people invested A deal with Beasley involving nearly half a billion dollars. Beasley used the money to buy luxury items and pay off gambling debts, according to court documents. In the plea agreement, prosecutors describe the scheme as “massive.”
“Approximately $331.4 million of the $461 million was returned to investors, resulting in some investors making a profit on their investment, some breaking even, and some losing money,” prosecutors said in documents filed Friday. “In total, 948 investors lost a total of approximately $246.4 million.”
Prosecutors said Beasley paid himself $33.5 million, using the money to buy “luxury homes, luxury cars, recreational vehicles, among other things.” Of the $33.5 million, about $11 million went “to pay off gambling debts, and $22.8 million went to getting rich and continuing to gamble.”
“In short, the defendant knowingly caused investors to believe that their investments would be used to finance loans to personal injury plaintiffs… while awaiting receipt of settlements for claims against insurance companies, the defendant knew that the investor would use the investor’s money not to finance the loans but to enrich himself and others and to repay the investors as if the loans had been made,” the documents said.
The scheme allegedly began around 2017 with “false and fraudulent representations by Beasley.” [a person] Personal injury cases may find plaintiffs willing to borrow money against their settlements, the documents said.
During the dispute with the FBI in 2022, Beasley “repeatedly admitted to an FBI negotiator that… [the] The investment scheme was actually a Ponzi scheme that began in 2016 or 2017, the documents stated.
The state bar subsequently suspended Beasley’s law license.
An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 24, and it appears unlikely that that hearing will proceed following the plea agreement. It was unclear when Beasley would be able to enter his defense in court.
Beasley’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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