United States Attorney Anne M. Tompkins Western District Of North Carolina
Defendant Stole more than $2 Million from over 30 Victim Investors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Chuckie Beaver, 51, of Ellenboro, N.C. appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer today and pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud for defrauding more than 30 investors of over $2 million dollars, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Russell F. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Division joins U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and today’s plea hearing, from June 2012 to April 2014, Beaver induced over 30 victims to invest in his fraudulent scheme, falsely claiming that their money would be invested in “Best Services, Inc.," a company owned by Beaver and specializing in the repair of industrial electronic equipment. Court records indicate that Beaver solicited friends, neighbors, and fellow church members to invest with his company, by claiming that his company needed additional capital to purchase materials to complete a large number of outstanding repair orders from major corporations. To further the scheme, court records show that Beaver created and showed his investors bogus documents, including false repair orders indicating significant work activity, fake customer checks, and fake customer emails, giving a false impression he had strong relationships with major corporations.
According court records, Beaver provided his investor victims with promissory note investment contracts, stating that the investors would receive the principal invested plus interest - as high as 100% - within a specified period of time, typically 30 days. Court records indicate that, at the time of investment, Beaver would provide his investor victims a post-dated check for the full amount of the promised investment plus interest. As filed documents show, in most instances, when the investors deposited Beaver’s checks they would be returned for insufficient funds. According to court records, when investor victims questioned Beaver about the returned checks, Beaver made up a number of excuses, and in some instances he was able to lull investors into investing even more money with the promise of even greater returns. Court records indicate that contrary to his claims, Beaver used the investors’ money to pay for personal expenses and to make payments to previous investors, commonly referred to as Ponzi-payments. In total, over the course of the scheme, Beaver defrauded more than 30 individuals from Mecklenburg, Gaston and Cleveland counties of more than $2 million.
Beaver was released on bond following his plea hearing. He faces a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine, or both, and has agreed to pay restitution, the amount of which will be determined by the Court at sentencing. A sentencing date for the defendant has not been set yet.
The investigation was handled by the Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Zolot, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is handling the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
