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Pastor Pleads Guilty to $5M Ponzi Scheme in Colorado
Denver, CO – Pastor Charles Lawrence Kennedy, Jr., 71, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in a $5 million Ponzi scheme.
Kennedy is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello on January 22, 2014. He was indicted along with co-defendants Stanley Wayne Anderson of Arvada, Colorado, and Edwin Alexander Smith of Denver, Colorado.
According to the indictment, Kennedy, Anderson, and Smith devised a scheme to defraud investors between October 2005 and December 2008. They solicited investors’ funds for an investment program that promised nearly immediate returns of 200 to 1000 percent.
However, the investment program did not exist, and the funds were misappropriated by the defendants for unauthorized uses. Approximately $5 million was raised from over 100 investors nationwide.
Kennedy began soliciting investments in December 2005 from fellow pastors and members of their congregations through his company Keys to Life Corporation. He falsely promised that for every $1,000 invested, the minimum return would be $1,000,000, which would be paid within 90 days.
Kennedy collected $460,000 from nine investors and forwarded only $145,000 to Trinity for use in the investment pool. As a result, he has agreed to pay $315,000 in restitution. ‘The defendant used his position as a Pastor to solicit funds from investors with promises of substantial returns,’ said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.
‘Instead of investing the funds, he and others used the money for unauthorized purposes. The defendant’s abuse of his position of trust led to 100 people losing their hard-earned money, for which the defendant will now face the consequences.’
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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