March 9, 2015

Attorney Enters Guilty Plea in Investment Fraud Case

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Michael Mark McAdams, age 43, of Myrtle Beach, and Robert Dane Freeman, age 69, of Greenville, SC, have entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. According to facts presented during the guilty plea hearing, McAdams and Freeman solicited millions of dollars from investors in connection with a scheme that purported to double or triple the victims’ money using a series of overseas banking transactions. McAdams was working as an attorney in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and solicited clients into the fraudulent scheme. McAdams and Freeman used the funds invested by the victims for personal expenses. McAdams also used funds invested by new victims to make lulling payments in order to hide the scheme from previous victims. McAdams has been suspended from the practice of law by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Sentencing in the case has not yet been scheduled, but McAdams and Freeman face a maximum penalty of twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney T. DeWayne Pearson of the Columbia office.