$364 Million Ponzi Scheme Nets 25 Exotics: Crazy Car Stories
Multi-million dollar scheme helped purchase exotic cars from McLaren, Ferrari, and Bugatti — plus a ton of trouble.
Ever since its namesake, Charles Ponzi, stole tons of investor cash to pay his earliest investors and himself way back in the roaring 1920s, the Ponzi scheme has been one of the worst ways to raise cash while also being one of the best ways to land in prison for years. The most infamous Ponzi scheme in recent memory occurred a few months into the Great Recession, when a Ponzi scheme by Bernie Madoff crashed and burned with $65 billion in losses, and gave Madoff 150 years in prison for the trouble.
For at least a couple of men, they’ll be in prison for much longer. In 2018, the Baltimore Business Journal reported that two Texans and a Massachusetts man were arrested and federally indicted in conducting a $364 million Ponzi scheme “to fund a ‘lavish lifestyle’ that included buying fancy houses and more than 20 luxury cars.”
Kevin B. Merrill of Towson, Massachusetts and his two co-conspirators, Jay B. Ledford and Cameron Jezierski of Texas, face 14 charges of wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering in a scheme based upon “an elaborate web of lies” of 30 fake companies and 55 real bank accounts linked to buying and selling non-existent debt portfolios, a scheme dating back to 2013.
While some investors eventually received $197 million back in “proceeds,” the three men used their ill-gotten gains to buy lots of homes, cars, and jewelry. Merrill himself bought 25 exotic cars and motorcycles with his some of his loot. According to CarScoops, the list of exotics include a McLaren 720s, Bugatti Veyron 16.4, a Pagani Huayra Diablo, a Ferrari 488 GTB, and a Rolls-Royce Wraith.
Merrill and Ledford each face a prison term of up to 262 years, while Jezierski will receive a lighter sentence of up to 120 years. All three also face fines of $250,000 for each count of wire fraud and money laundering, as well as on conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Merrill and Ledford face a $500,000 fine on conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Federal prosecutors hope to seize all of the assets purchased with the stolen money in order to pay back the 200-plus investors caught in the Ponzi scheme. Thus, now would be a good time to start looking through any government auction sites, in case you’re in the market for a new McLaren or Roller.
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