Willard Timothy Sutton, Ponzi Scheme, North Carolina 2023

WILMINGTON, N.C. – In a shocking turn of events, Willard Timothy Sutton, 64, has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in connection with a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 60 investors in Eastern North Carolina, resulting in net losses exceeding $8 million.

At sentencing later this year, Sutton faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sutton will also be required to pay restitution to victims.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, between approximately 2019 and 2023, Sutton operated a largescale Ponzi scheme in connection with an investment program offered through Greenville Auto World, LLC (GAW), a car dealership located in Greenville. GAW was a “buy here pay here” (BHPH) dealership, enabling customers with poor or no credit history to finance the purchase of a vehicle directly through the dealership, rather than through a bank or credit union.

Between approximately 2012 and 2023, as part of an investment program sponsored, promoted, and administered by GAW, Sutton sold BHPH finance contracts to outside investors through direct solicitation, referrals, and word-of-mouth advertisement. Beginning in approximately 2019, Sutton falsely and fraudulently led BHPH investors to believe that their investments were safe and secure, and that GAW was collecting sufficient repayments from loan customers to be able to fully pay the principal and interest owed to them.

In truth, GAW was collecting millions from investors, but it did not have the means to service the debt through BHPH revenue or any legitimate business income. Between approximately October 2018 and August 2023, the FBI estimates that GAW collected investor funds in excess of $60 million. However, GAW’s gross receipts were a small fraction of the total.

In order to conceal GAW’s financial condition, and avoid the collapse of the business, Sutton operated the BHPH program as a Ponzi scheme in which he would (in a typical transaction) sell a legitimate loan contract to one investor and then sell one or more false and fabricated versions of that same contract to other investors without their knowledge. Sutton then used the proceeds of the fraudulent sales to pay off earlier investors.

“Over the course of years, instead of helping so-called investors, this defendant bilked his victims out of millions of dollars of their hard earned money,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar. “Fraudsters should know that they will be held accountable for their crimes in the Eastern District of North Carolina.”

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