Sarasota Man Indicted for Fraud in $37 Million Ponzi Scheme

TAMPA, FL—United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton, along with Steven E. Ibison, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tampa Field Division, and Linda J. Osuna, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced today the indictment of Beau Diamond (age 31, of Sarasota) by a federal grand jury on seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, seven counts of illegal monetary transactions, and one count of transportation of stolen property. If convicted, the maximum penalty in federal prison on each count is: 20 years for wire and mail fraud, 10 years for illegal monetary transactions, and 10 years for transportation of stolen property. Diamond was arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office on September 3, 2009, based on a federal complaint and he is being detained.

According to the indictment, Diamond is alleged to have engaged in a fraudulent Ponzi scheme from 2006 until January 2009, by which he solicited friends, family, and others to invest in his company, Diamond Ventures, LLC. (“Diamond Ventures”), for the purported purpose of trading their invested funds in foreign exchange currency markets. Diamond is alleged to have promised investors in Sarasota and throughout the United States a monthly return of 2.75-5 percent on their investments and to have guaranteed the security of investors' proceeds. These promises, the indictment alleges, were false, and instead of obtaining a return, Diamond used investment proceeds to make interest payments to investors. The indictment further alleges that approximately 200 victim investors contributed nearly $38 million into Diamond's fund for the purposes of trading, all of which was dissipated through Ponzi distributions, losing trades, and diversions to Diamond for his personal benefit.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). It is being prosecuted by United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton and Assistant United States Attorney Terry A. Zitek.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until proven guilty.