A Summerfield man has been sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison for operating a Ponzi scheme and committing tax fraud, according to an announcement by United States Attorney Clifton T. Barrett of the Middle District of North Carolina.
William Lamar Rhew, III, 39, received a sentence of 235 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release from U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder.
Court records show that between November 2017 and December 2023, Rhew defrauded at least 117 investors out of approximately $24 million through his company Chadley Capital, LLC. He told investors the company would purchase accounts receivable at a discount and sell them for profit, promising high rates of return. Rhew claimed the business completed $300 million in transactions in 2023 with consistent returns over 20% annually and nearly 74% total growth over two years. These statements were found to be false.
Instead of investing as promised, Rhew used investor funds for personal expenses including purchasing luxury cars, a beach house, a boat, payments on credit cards, and making payments to other investors as part of the Ponzi scheme.
From tax years 2018 through 2022, Rhew failed to report nearly $9 million in income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), evading more than $3 million in taxes. He maintained a shell business funded partly by victim funds from Chadley Capital and falsely claimed personal spending as business expenses while failing to file individual tax returns for several years.
“This defendant devastated the personal finances of individual victims and defrauded the public at large by failing to file and pay taxes to the IRS,” said United States Attorney Barrett. “We will prosecute such schemes to the full extent of the law. We appreciate the robust investigation conducted by our law enforcement partners in this matter.”
“The defendant victimized his investors and defrauded American taxpayers by concealing his income from the IRS and evading his tax liability,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins with IRS Criminal Investigation’s Charlotte Field Office. “IRS-CI’s collaborative investigative efforts alongside our law enforcement partners led to justice for the victims in this case.”
“The time Rhew will spend behind bars will never make up for the millions of dollars he stole from more than a hundred people. He promised to make them rich, instead Rhew is the one who profited. He bought fancy cars, a beach house, and even a boat. Fraud of this magnitude can have a lasting impact not only financially, but emotionally for victims. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to hold fraudsters who rip off hard working Americans accountable,” said James C. Barnacle Jr., FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge.
“Through the combined efforts of the SBI and our partner agencies, this individual was held accountable for exploiting his investors’ trust,” said NCSBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Cardwell. “Together, we will continue to pursue those who commit fraud and help protect our citizens.”
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Jeanne Dildine prosecuted.
