Contact Person: Winston Holliday (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Arthur Vann, age 65, of Aiken, South Carolina, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Columbia to Conspiracy, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Vann at a later date.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Vann had an interest in various offshore bank accounts and companies, primarily located in the Caribbean. As a financial adviser, he directed a number of clients to invest in a particular fund focused on the Cayman Islands. When money was transferred for this purpose, Vann diverted some of it into accounts he controlled and spent it for his own benefit. When confronted by a number of investors, he sent them fake statements purporting to reflect the investments made. The amount of loss was $1.4 million.
Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty for Conspiracy is imprisonment for five years and/or a fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Winston David Holliday, Jr. of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case. ##
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
