Georgia Man Again Guilty of Fraud in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated that Virgil Womack, age 68, of Valdosta, Georgia, entered a guilty plea today to wire fraud. United States District Judge G. Ross Anderson, Jr., accepted the plea and will sentence Womack at a later date. Womack faces a sentence of up to 20 years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000.00.

In 2001, Womack was sentenced by Judge Anderson to serve five years in prison for his involvement in the promotion of a bogus investment program. In spring 2008, a family member advised law enforcement that Womack had completed his prison term and was again selling some sort of shady investment program. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina and the Federal Bureau of Investigation then began an investigation to determine if this information was correct.

Undercover operatives of the FBI telephoned Womack and pretended to be high-dollar investors, looking for non-traditional investments. Womack attempted to talk these operatives into placing money in a variety of investments, all of which were known by the FBI to be fraudulent. In particular, Womack sought investments in the exact same bogus program for which he had been sentenced to jail previously.

The FBI has determined that Womack had not been able to obtain investments in this latest effort, so there were no actual victims.

The investigation was led by FBI Special Agent Paul Jacobs along with Assistant United States Attorney David C. Stephens who is also prosecuting the case. Mr. Wilkins commended Jacobs and Stephens for their quick action which stopped Womack before he was once again able to defraud investors.