A man previously convicted on 17 counts of mail and wire fraud as part of a Ponzi scheme was charged Thursday with wire fraud, securities fraud and identity theft in the service of a new Ponzi scheme.
Defendant Wilson Baston pleaded guilty to the first scheme in 2008, and, the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission allege, got right back to work on a new scheme upon his release from prison in 2017.
From November 2018 to June 2023, Baston is accused of using the name of another person, Chanon Gordon, listed as a managing member of Baston’s Gordon Management Group, in order to solicit investments in New York real estate deals.
Other aliases Baston is accused of using include “Jackie Wilson” and “William Baston.”
Baston’s purported scheme brought in $10 million in investments over the period of its existence according to his indictment.
Baston is accused of providing investors with promissory notes promising repayment plus a fee of up to 25% of the investment’s value. In some cases, a percentage of the profits from the supposed future real estate transaction was also promised.
Instead, the feds allege, new money being brought in to GMG was instead used to pay off previous investors and personal expenses, such as a $15,000 payment to BMW of Manhattan in August 2021.
Investors meanwhile were promised short-term real estate deals with a high rate of return on investment. Baston’s supposed strategy in the scheme saw investors get back the initial payment plus interest in order to gain trust and induce them to invest more money.
After that, the Justice Department charges, Baston stopped paying the investors back, providing excuses when prodded about where the money was.
“As we allege in our complaint, Baston deceived investors by using an alias to conceal his criminal history and by initially making payments to create the false appearance of a successful investment strategy,” Tejal Shah, associate regional director in the SEC’s New York office, said in a statement.
If convicted on the one count each of wire fraud and securities fraud, Baston would face up to 20 years in prison for each charge. The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence on top of any other punishment that would be imposed.
The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, a civil penalty, an injunction barring Baston from selling promissory notes and investment contracts, and to bar Baston permanently from serving as an officer or director in a public company.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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