RECOMMENDED READING: Keith Simmons Sentenced To 50 Years In Federal Prison For ‘Black Diamond’ Ponzi Scheme That Allegedly Sparked Second Ponzi And Offshore Tax Scam Through Entity Known As ‘Sovereign Grace Inc.’

Keith F. Simmons, whose monumentally bizarre Ponzi scheme put a North Carolina bank in harm’s way, has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

The Charlotte Observer was first with the story this afternoon.

Simmons is 47.

Among the allegations in case is that hucksters who’ve been charged both civilly and criminally conducted no real due diligence and helped Simmons grow the scheme to about $40 million.

See Feb. 17, 2011, PP Blog story that outlined some of the elements of a CFTC civil case against Simmons, the principal figure in the Black Diamond Capital Solutions LLC case.

See April 27, 2011, PP Blog story on how and why CommunityONE Bank N.A of Asheboro, N.C., was charged criminally in the aftermath of the Simmons’ caper for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. The bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the government.

See Feb. 23, 2012, PP Blog story about individuals who allegedly assisted Simmons.

A Belize entity known as “Sovereign Grace Inc.” and and a second entity known as Divine Circulation Services Ltd. were part of the scam, investigators said.