William Lamar Rhew III, Ponzi Scheme, North Carolina 2025

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Table of Contents

Defendant Sentenced to 19 Years for Ponzi Scheme and Tax Fraud

A Summerfield man was sentenced to 235 months’ imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release for a $20 million Ponzi scheme and tax fraud, announced United States Attorney Clifton T. Barrett of the Middle District of North Carolina.

William Lamar Rhew, III, age 39, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the MDNC, after pleading guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, securities fraud, tax evasion, and failure to file tax returns.

According to court records, Rhew defrauded at least 117 investors of at least $24 million through his company Chadley Capital, LLC, which promised consistently high rates of return on investment. However, Rhew used the victims’ funds to pay his personal expenses, including the purchases of a boat, a beach house, and luxury cars, and to make “interest” and “withdrawal” payments to other victim-investors as part of the Ponzi scheme.

In addition, Rhew willfully failed to report nearly $9 million in income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and evaded over $3 million in taxes for Tax Years 2018 through 2022. Rhew maintained a shell business entity, funded in part by Chadley Capital, LLC victim funds, to support his personal lifestyle, and claimed payments into this shell business entity as business expenses, but lied to his accountant about the existence of any corresponding reportable income.

“This defendant devastated the personal finances of individual victims and defrauded the public at large by failing to file and pay taxes to the IRS,” said United States Attorney Barrett. “We will prosecute such schemes to the full extent of the law.”

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, with the help of other law enforcement agencies. The FBI and its partners are committed to holding fraudsters accountable for ripping off hardworking Americans and will continue to pursue those who commit fraud and help protect citizens.