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U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney's Office 800 Federal Office Building Ph: (901) 544-4231
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PRESS RELEASE |
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LEIGH ANNE JORDON (901) 544-4231 |
December 28, 2006
Former Paris, Tennessee Insurance Agent Sentenced in Ponzi Scheme
Jackson, TN - David Kustoff, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced today that United States District Court Judge James D. Todd sentenced Robert C. Beaver, 68, to 70 months in prison and three years supervised release as a result of his conviction for mail fraud and money laundering. In addition to serving the prison time, Beaver was ordered to pay $1,029,567 in restitution to his victims.
The sentence resulted from Beaver's September 22, 2006 guilty plea to an elaborate scheme that he devised to defraud mostly elderly investors in fictitious business ventures. According to the indictment, the victims, either insurance policyholders or their associates, were lured into the scam as a result of the fraudulent representations of Beaver. After the failure of the Ponzi scheme, which involved enticing investors by promising exorbitant interest rates and returns, Beaver fled to Mexico and was returned to the Western District of Tennessee for prosecution.
The
investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States
Attorney Victor L. Ivy prosecuted the case for the Government.