Defendants in 30-30 Club Investment Scheme Sentenced
Angela and Ronald Smith, Terrance Cunningham All to Spend Time in Prison

ABINGDON, VA—The three individuals who ran an “investment” club that turned out to be nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of more than $1.4 million were sentenced last Friday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.

In August 2011, following a lengthy jury trial, Terrance Keith Cunningham, 39, of Alpharetta, Georgia; and Angela Allison Duty Smith, 35, of Davenport, Virginia, were found guilty of all charges filed against them. Angela Smith was found guilty of 210 counts of wire fraud, 23 counts of money laundering, one count of commodities fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Cunningham was found guilty of 210 counts of wire fraud, 17 counts of money laundering, one count of obstruction, one count of commodities fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The third defendant, Ronald Wade Smith, Jr., 36, of Davenport Virginia, pled guilty in June 2011 to 210 counts of wire fraud, 17 counts of money laundering, one count of obstruction, one count of commodities fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Last week in District Court, Cunningham was sentenced to 84 months of federal incarceration and three years of supervised released thereafter. Angela Smith was sentenced to 36 months of federal incarceration and three years of supervised released thereafter, and Ronald Smith was sentenced to 135 months of federal incarceration and three years of supervised released thereafter. The defendants were also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,117,104.91 and to forfeit a variety of personal property, including three cars and a house.

“The Department of Justice has made it a priority to protect our citizens against financial fraud,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “This case demonstrates our commitment to prosecute those who prey upon investors with false promises. Investors need to be vigilant and carefully scrutinize the promises made by investors. The old adage applies: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

According to evidence presented at trial by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Bockhorst and Zach Lee, in the winter of 2008 to 2009, Ronald Smith created a website, safeguard3030.com, to market an “investment club” called “Safeguard 30/30 Investment Club,” which offered investors 30 percent returns on a 30-day business cycle. During this time, Ronald Smith posted a video to the website in which he explained a method of investing in foreign currency exchange markets which he claimed made 95.5 percent positive returns.

In 2009, Cunningham enlisted individuals to become members and invest in the Safeguard 30/30 Investment Club, telling perspective investors he was a partner in the club and directing them to Ronald Smith and the website. Ronald and Angela Smith also enlisted members to invest in Safeguard 30/30 Club in 2009, telling perspective investors that Ronald Smith would invest their money in foreign currency exchange markets.

Throughout 2009 to 2010, Angela and Ronald Smith received wire transfers and made deposits into a BB&T bank account from investors in the Safeguard 30/30 Club. During this same time period, Angela Smith and Ronald Smith paid personal expenses from the BB&T account, including costs related to the building of a new house and pool and nearly $30,000 in furniture purchases.

Between August 2009 and March 2010, Ronald Smith, Angela Smith, and Terrance Cunningham communicated a series of false and fraudulent stories to investors in the Safeguard 30/30 Investment Club purporting to explain why payments on investment returns were not being made.

As a result of the conspiracy, approximately $1.5 million was deposited into the BB&T bank account, causing victims to suffer over $1,000,000 in losses.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the cooperation with the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Bockhorst and Zach Lee prosecuted the case for the United States.