Kevin Kyes, a 70-year-old former resident of Campbell, California and current resident of Roseville, California, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a $7 million Ponzi scheme.
Kyes was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, seventeen counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering after a week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.
The evidence at trial established that Kyes conspired to commit wire fraud and committed wire fraud as part of a nearly $7 million Ponzi scheme in which the victims were a group of more than 60 Japanese investors.
From December 2012 through July 2015, Kyes worked with John Holdaway, 74 of Sandy, Utah, to defraud the Japanese investors through a business that they referred to as “Money Management Strategies,” or MMS.
Kyes and Holdaway told the investors their money would be invested in high-speed trading programs with historical returns of well over 100% annually, but instead, they spent the money themselves, used it to fund Ponzi-type payments back to investors, spent it to pay back prior creditors to whom they owed funds, and spent it on gold-related businesses.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Illston also ordered Kyes to serve three years of supervised release and to pay over $3.6 million in restitution.
Kyes was sentenced on [no specific date provided] in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, California.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Kingsley and Helen Gilbert with assistance from Bridget Kilkenny and Patricia Mahoney.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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