A North Carolina man was sentenced on Jul. 30 to 42 months in federal prison for running an investment fund theft scam that defrauded at least 64 investors in the District of Maryland.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox imposed the sentence on Hunter Haithcock, also known as Hunter Elliott, age 25, of Matthews. In addition to prison time, Haithcock was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and pay $655,498.93 in restitution and forfeiture after being convicted of wire and investment adviser fraud. The court found that Haithcock stole at least $650,000 from victims through his scheme.
According to court documents, beginning in September 2019 and continuing through October 2022, Haithcock falsely claimed he worked for a registered investment adviser company (referred to as Company #1) and convinced victims their investments were guaranteed with significant returns. He provided fabricated reports showing purported portfolio gains but instead diverted funds for personal use such as credit card bills, entertainment expenses, car payments, travel—including hotels and flights—and cryptocurrency trading.
Haithcock met his victims through various means including a local church and word-of-mouth referrals. He often represented himself as a licensed securities broker who could deliver very large returns—sometimes promising between 100% and 200% or more—even though he was never employed by Company #1 or any other broker-dealer nor held any license to trade securities. Victims invested varying amounts; some contributed tens of thousands while others invested $10,000 or less.
When investors began requesting their money back, Haithcock gave false explanations for delays or simply stopped responding altogether. While he used funds from new investors to pay back a few earlier ones—a practice resembling a Ponzi scheme—most received nothing in return.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office for its investigative work along with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, and Maryland Attorney General’s Office, “Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Wenner who prosecuted the federal case.”
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland is part of the U.S Department of Justice; it serves nearly six million residents across Maryland by prosecuting federal crimes—including fraud cases like this one—handling civil matters on behalf of the United States government and collecting debts owed to it while employing over 200 personnel across its divisions according to the official website.