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CLEVELAND (WJW) — An Avon man convicted in a $9.3 million Ponzi scheme that stole from at least 54 investors has been sentenced to prison.
Raymond A. Erker, a former investment adviser who worked in Westlake, was convicted in March after a seven-day trial before federal Judge Aaron Polster. He was handed a 22-year prison sentence Tuesday, according to a U.S. Attorney spokesperson.
Evidence showed Erker sold investments to clients that he misrepresented as annuities and senior secured notes that were without risk and had guaranteed rates of return.
Erker and codefendants Kevin Krantz and Tara M. Brunst, both of Olmsted Falls, diverted funds to “other entities that they controlled” and their personal bank accounts, according to a news release from Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler in Ohio’s Northern District federal court.
The three conspired between January 2013 and July 2018, stealing a total $9,366,976.37 from at least 54 investors, prosecutors said. Krantz and Brunst previously pleaded guilty.
Ponzi schemes are a type of investment fraud “which pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors,” as defined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “Ponzi scheme organizers often promise to invest your money and generate high returns with little or no risk….
