BULLETIN: Trevor Cook Jailed For Contempt In Minnesota Ponzi Scheme Case; Judge Orders Him To Surrender $27 Million, Submarine, Houseboat, More

UPDATED 7:55 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A federal judge has ordered Trevor Cook jailed for not turning over assets in a Minnesota Ponzi scheme case brought by the SEC.

Chief U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis found Cook in civil contempt of court. U.S. Marshals “escorted Cook from the courtroom to jail,” the SEC said.

“Mr. Cook has elected to disregard the court’s orders and will now be a guest of the federal correctional system until he mends his ways,” said Merri Jo Gillette, director of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office.

Cook, accused with Christian radio host Pat Kiley in November of operating a complex financial fraud involving forex trading, would remain jailed until he surrendered $27 million “located in offshore accounts, a BMW and two Lexus automobiles, a submarine, a houseboat, a collection of expensive watches, a collection of Faberge eggs, Bon Jovi concert tickets, and $670,000 in cash,” the SEC said.

An investor said in a court deposition that Cook told him he bought the two-person submarine on eBay for $40,000 to access a private island in Canada. Investigators said the scheme involved at least $190 million.