U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker | U.S. Department of Justice
A Dallas man, John K. Eckerd Jr., has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Columbus, Ohio, for his involvement in a $50 million Ponzi scheme that spanned multiple states. The 60-year-old admitted to conspiring to commit wire fraud and tax crimes as part of the scheme related to off-the-road tire sales. He received at least $14 million from this fraudulent activity.
Eckerd's plea agreement suggests a prison sentence ranging from 36 to 109 months. He collaborated with Jason E. Adkins, who has already been convicted and sentenced, along with others in the scheme.
Court documents reveal that Eckerd and his co-conspirators misled investors into believing they were engaged in legitimate business dealings involving oversized tires used on earth-moving or mining equipment. However, few transactions were conducted as claimed. Instead, investor funds were diverted for personal use or to repay other victims.
Additionally, Eckerd worked with Adkins to evade income taxes by reclassifying payments as loans and concealing income through shell entities and nominees. This resulted in evading $1,028,454 in taxes.
The final restitution amount will be determined at sentencing. As part of the plea deal, Eckerd agreed to forfeit $14 million, including his home in McKinney, Texas.
The announcement of the guilty plea was made by Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd from IRS Criminal Investigation; and Elena Iatarola from the FBI's Cincinnati Division before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley Jr. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall, Peter K. Glenn-Applegate, and David J. Twombly are handling the case for the prosecution.
