The scheme over six years defrauded nearly 500 victims.
Apostelos and her husband, William Apostelos, were indicted in October 2015.
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According to court documents, beginning in 2009, and continuing for at least five years, the couple and others orchestrated a Ponzi scheme in the Dayton area in which nearly 480 investors lost more than $20 million collectively. They received $70 million in investment funds in total.
Connie Apostelos pleaded guilty in April to one count of money laundering. She operated and oversaw multiple companies in the Dayton area, including Coleman Capital, Inc. and Silver Bridle Racing, LLC.
The couple recruited investors from 37 states to invest in companies, telling the investors that their money would be used for acquiring stocks or securities, purchasing real estate or land, providing loans to business and buying gold and silver, according to a media release.
But instead of investing the money, the couple spent it on horse racing and lingerie, among other items.
“Connie Apostelos used the money of hard working investors to pay for her extravagant personal expenses and is being held accountable for her actions,” said Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office. “Now, approximately 500 investors are in financial peril that could last a lifetime.”
William Apostelos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan and was sentenced in June to 180 months in prison.
Steven Scudder, 62, of Centerville, an attorney who served as trustee of the WMA Trust, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in January to wire fraud, admitting that he used his position as an attorney to facilitate the fraudulent investment scheme. He was sentenced in June to 14 months in prison.
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