A Las Vegas attorney who was shot and injured by FBI agents last week is accused of orchestrating a $300 million Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
Matthew Beasley, 49, faces one count of assault on a federal officer following the Thursday shooting at his home on the 5400 block of Ruffian Road, near Ann Road. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Lopez said the shooting unfolded because of an investigation into the alleged Ponzi scheme, which dates back to 2017.
“The defendant said he expected the FBI to come for him that day because the FBI had visited an associate earlier,” the prosecutor said during a federal court hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
Lopez said Beasley “repeatedly confessed” to his involvement in the scheme, which was worth about $300 million, and admitted orchestrating it. Further information about the scheme has not been released.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing technique that promises high rates of return with little risk to investors. In the scheme, money provided by new investors is used to pay seeming high returns to early-stage investors to suggest the enterprise is prosperous.
About 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a trio of agents arrived at Beasley’s home to interview him for an “ongoing investigation,” according to a criminal complaint.
Beasley came to the door holding a gun, and at one point pointed the gun at his own head, Lopez said Tuesday. When the agents yelled for Beasley to drop the gun, he pointed the firearm at the…
