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Tag: Timothy McQueen

  • BULLETIN: Victims Of ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Forex Ponzi Swindle That Devolved Into ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Sideshow Will Get Back 46 Cents On The Dollar

    Court-appointed receiver Beattie B. Ashmore sold this party bus and other property from the "3 Hebrew Boys" Ponzi scheme to raise money for victims.

    UPDATED 12:52 P.M. EDT (U.S.A., MAY 18): In an unusually large recovery by a court-appointed receiver, victims of the “3 Hebrew Boys” Forex Ponzi scheme and fraud caper in South Carolina will receive back about 46 cents on the dollar, according to filings in federal court.

    The Post and Courier of Charleston is reporting this afternoon that it has confirmed the recovery figure with the office of U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles.

    On April 25, according to the website of receiver Beattie B. Ashmore, the receiver filed a distribution plan showing that 3,842 court-approved claimants had been identified. The document also cites the figure of 46 cents. Ashmore has sold real estate, cars, a party bus and other property linked to the caper, which gathered $82 million and also acquired a Gulfstream jet.

    Tony Pough, Joseph Brunson and Timothy McQueen — the “3 Hebrew Boys” — are serving combined prison terms of 84 years. The sentences handed down by U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour were the longest Ponzi sentences ever handed down in South Carolina.

    In 2009, Brunson declared himself “sovereign” and accused then-U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkens of treason, saying Wilkens had no authority over him.

    “Sovereign citizens” have an irrational belief that laws to not apply to them. It is somewhat common for purported “sovereigns” to become involved in financial-fraud schemes.

    The “3 Hebrew Boys” scam positioned itself as a debt-relief ministry. The “3 Hebrew Boys” name is taken from a biblical tale  of believers who escaped a furnace by relying on their faith. The caper also presented a form of affinity fraud.

  • UPDATE: U.S. Attorney Says Ponzi Sentences Handed Down To The ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Were Longest In History Of South Carolina District; Forex Fraudsters Bought $5 Million Private Jet, $900,000 ‘Party Bus’

    The 3 Hebrew Boys' party bus. (Screen shot from for-sale ad by Beattie B. Ashmore, the court-appointed receiver. The bus, a Prevost XLII 68988 VIP/Executive Coach, is marked "SOLD.")

    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.