WASHINGTON D.C.
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a 56-year-old man to 13 years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that resulted in a $28.6 million loss to 170 investors.
The victims gave Garfield M. Taylor, of Rockville, Maryland, and his companies.
“Garfield Taylor masterminded a Ponzi scheme to bilk local investors out of over $28 million,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent Cohen Jr. “When his scheme collapsed, his lies left the families and charities who believed his empty promises holding the bag. This 13-year prison sentence is a reflection of the seriousness of financial crimes and our dedication to vigorous prosecution of securities fraud.”
Taylor pleaded guilty in March 2014 to securities fraud.
U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts ordered Taylor, who was taken into custody after the sentencing, to pay $28.6 million in restitution, according to authorities.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a civil judgment against Taylor for his fraudulent conduct, officials said.
According to the evidence, Taylor concocted a scheme from in or about September 2006 through in or about September 2010 in which he convinced investors to invest with him by promising them substantial returns on their investment.
He told them that he used a sophisticated securities trading strategy that protected against loss and claiming that he had a proven track record of using this strategy effectively.
Officials said Taylor never used the trading strategy that he told investors that he would use.
With the investments, officials saidTaylor either lost money or made minimal profits far below what was needed to pay the amounts he owed. The only way that Taylor was able to pay the substantial interest rates was to use portions of the principal invested by new investors to pay amounts that were owed to earlier investors, officials said.
For example, in April 2010, Taylor used about half of an investor’s $425,000 investment to pay interest and principal that was due to earlier investors, rather than using those funds to invest in securities, as he had promised to do, according to officials.
Authorities stated that Taylor paid only a portion of the interest payments he was required to pay the investor, before telling the investor that, because of trading losses, he was unable to make any more interest payments or to return the investor’s principal.
At the time of the scheme’s collapse, the losses to investors were more than $28.6 million, officials said.