Michael Eugene Kelly (6 October 1949 – 22 December 2013) was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico who operated a number of fraudulent resort enterprises and the Avanti Motor Corporation. In 2007, with 23 others, he was accused by the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office of operating an enormous Ponzi scheme that defrauded over a thousand elderly and senior citizens of their retirement money.US Securities and Exchange Commission press release Washington, 5 September 2007 It was later disclosed that 7,000 victims from throughout the U.S. lost more than $342 million.
Fraud charges Kelly was arrested at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on December 22, 2006. He claimed to earn $55,000 a year and had only $48,000 in assets, yet he offered a private jet, four yachts and a race track as collateral at his detention hearing.Cohen J. and staff reporter. Hotelier denied bond in fraud case. Businessman charged in alleged Ponzi scam holds dual citizenship Chicago Tribune, 21 February 2007 All of his assets were located outside the U.S. He was denied bail and remanded to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago.
Kelly attempted to avoid indictment by arranging a plea agreement that included paying restitution to the victims. On 14 May 2008, he pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of fraud and was remanded in custody.About Michael Eugene Kelly Unofficial anti-fraud website, which includes a timeline of the proceedings On April 14, 2009, a court permanently enjoined him from violating sections of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.Litigation Release No. 21003 at U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 15 April 2009 On June 30, 2012, he remained in prison as the court liquidated assets with a view to providing partial restitution to victims of the Ponzi scheme.
In December 2012, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison with a $10-million bond to secure lenient periods of house arrest for treatment of colorectal cancer.
Kelly died on December 22, 2013, in South Bend, Indiana.
References
External links SEC vs. Michael E Kelly, Michael P Kelly, Donald L Kelly and 23 others Avanti Motors website Final news item, 27 October 2006 Brady-Lunny E Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 12 September 2007 Mexico Timeshare News, at The Gatehouse website, 6 September 2014 Michael E. Kelly Pleads Guilty in First Stage of Resolving $500 Million Timeshare Ponzi Scheme, at Inside the Gate website, 14 December 2012