(STNG) -- A west suburban man has been charged with running a Ponzi scheme in which he allegedly lured at least 60 people to invest about $28 million into his printing company, netting a loss of at least $4.5 million for his investors.
Matthew Scott of Elmhurst is charged with mail fraud in a federal criminal information filed Thursday, according to a U.S. Attorney’s office release. Scott, 50, was president and sole owner of a printer repair company known as Gelsco Inc. in Northlake.
Between early 2000 and March 2009, Scott fraudulently obtained at least $28 million from at least 60 investors and caused a loss of at least $4.5 million each, according to the charges.
He allegedly obtained funds by falsely representing that Gelsco purchased or financed the purchase of high-speed commercial printers with a value of more than $100,000, which were sold for a substantial profit, charges allege.
Scott also claimed that investor funds would be used to purchase or finance printers to be sold to third parties, using fabricated purchase orders, invoices, promissory notes and other documents to lure investors, the charges allege.
According to the charges, Scott also obtained a $300,000 loan from Hinsdale Bank and Trust Co. by claiming the loan would be secured by a printer which was being sold to a third party and by providing fraudulent documents as proof of the printer sale, according to the charges.
If convicted of mail fraud, Scott faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the release.
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