UPDATED 4:16 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Yesterday U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour of the District of South Carolina sentenced the “3 Hebrew Boys” — Tony Pough, Joseph Brunson and Timothy McQueen — to a combined total of 84 years in federal prison for a massive Forex fraud and Ponzi scheme.
Today the region’s top prosecutor said the fraud sentences handed down by Seymour were the “highest” in the history of the South Carolina federal district. Seymour also ordered the men to pay $82 million in restitution to victims of the colossal scam.
“As U.S. Attorney, especially in this time of economic hardship, I will continue to seek out and aggressively prosecute those who prey on their fellow citizens and deprive them of their hard-earned savings,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles. “I hope that those who would defraud their neighbors, friends, and associates hear this message loud and clear.”
McQueen, 52, and Brunson, 47, each received sentences of 27 years. Pough, 47, was sentenced to 30 years because he had a prior conviction, Nettles said.
The men purchased a $5 million Gulfstream jet and a $900,000 “party bus” as part of their caper, prosecutors said. They also bought expensive cars, real estate and luxury suites at the NFL stadiums of the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons.
People of faith and members of the military were among the victims, prosecutors said.
“These schemes wrecked the lives of thousands of people,” Nettles said, pointing out that South Carolina fraudster Al Parish had been sentenced to 24 years in a separate case that involved $66 million.
Beattie B. Ashmore, the court-appointed receiver, has recovered about $20 million so far for victims, prosecutors said.