EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – An El Paso man was recently indicted and charged with 10 counts related to the alleged operation of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas announced in a press release.
According to court documents, Timothy France Johnson, 61, through his businesses, BOLO Entertainment LLC, BOLO Sports LLC and Shoot N’2 Sports LLC, allegedly defrauded over 30 investors by fraudulently representing that their investments would be used to promote pre-season NBA games.
The indictment alleges that Johnson held himself out as a third-party promoter of NBA pre-season games and convinced unwary investors to invest money with him to sponsor said pre-season games, according to the press release.
Additionally, the indictment also alleges that Johnson collected over $3 million in investor funds, using approximately $1 million of the deposited investment funds to pay fake investment profits to other clients and using the remainder of the investment funds for personal use, according to the press release.
Johnson is alleged to have never disclosed the misappropriation or the extent of the losses of the investors’ funds.
Johnson is charged with seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
According to the press release, Johnson made his initial court appearance on April 9 before a magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
“If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the seven wire fraud charges and up to 10 years in prison for each of the three money laundering charges,” read the press release. “A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”
In addition, the FBI is investigating the case.
Read: Read More