Ponzi scheme leaders agree to admit guilt

The government says they swindled 2,000 investors out of $200-million in the phony investment before a bankruptcy raised red flags.

By GRAHAM BRINK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 11, 2002

TAMPA -- Four men accused of running an Orlando-based Ponzi scheme that targeted about 2,000 victims and brought in $200-million have agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges.

In court documents released Wednesday, the men admitted that the decade-long scam was set up in 1991 and promised high returns on "guaranteed," government-backed bonds. Instead, much of the money was stolen, and the rest was invested in high-risk securities, according to the court documents.

"This was a sophisticated and well-hidden scheme," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Runyon. "Then the wheels fell off, and a lot of people were left with little or nothing to show for their investments."

Thomas Spencer, 51, and Robert W. Boyd, 55, both of Orlando, created the scheme and agreed to plead guilty to four counts including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, court records stated. They each face a maximum of 30 years in prison and more than $1-million in fines, although defendants in these types of cases rarely receive the maximum sentence.

Spencer and Boyd turned the scheme over to Martin W. Boelens Jr., 45, of Orlando, in 1998. Boelens agreed to plead guilty to similar charges and faces up to 25 years in prison. Anthony V. Micciche, 72, a Tampa-based broker who did not run the program but helped facilitate it, agreed to plead guilty to one count of sale of unregistered securities.

Boyd and Boelens are attorneys. All the men remain free. Their first appearance in court will likely be scheduled to take place in the next couple of weeks.

Barry Bohrer, Boelens' lawyer from New York City, said his client is accepting responsibility for his actions.

"We look forward to the day when all the facts are known and his involvement in this case is fully aired," Bohrer said.

The men solicited clients by creating promotional videos and glossy brochures. Many of the brokers and salesmen who sold the investments thought it was legitimate, Runyon said.

The investors, from 17 states and many foreign countries, were promised 10 to 12 percent guaranteed returns on their investments. The men marketed the investments under several names including Evergreen Security and Worldwide Bond Partners Ltd., which took in $35-million in the Tampa Bay area, court records showed.

A few of the 2,000 victims invested more than $1-million each, Runyon said. Many investors cashed out retirement accounts to invest with the companies. At first, many investors received monthly payments and often rolled over their investments when the men marketed new investments.

The investors didn't know, however, that up to 70 percent of their money was being stolen. Much of the money flowed through more than 40 offshore entities in the Caribbean and Central America to hide it from investors and make it hard for law enforcement to track, Runyon said.

Like most Ponzi schemes, the incoming money could not keep up with the monthly payments to investors. In the fall of 2000, checks began to bounce and payments weren't made. Boelens put the company into bankruptcy, which is when authorities became suspicious and an investigation began, Runyon said. The men have agreed to pay some restitution, but most of the money will never be recovered.

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