Arlington Man Sentenced 36 Months for $40 Million Ponzi Scheme

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Preston David Pinkett II, age 70, of Arlington, Va., was sentenced to 36 months in prison for engaging in a massive Ponzi scheme that raised more than $40 million in fraudulent payments from investors. Pinkett was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $18,774,989 in restitution.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Gregory Campbell, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Liam O’Grady.

On Dec. 2, 2008, Pinkett pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud involving a fraudulent scheme he operated from January 2004 to December 2006. Court records show that as president and CEO of Arlington-based International Fiduciary Corp. (IFC), Pinkett and his co-conspirators used IFC to solicit investors in the United States and Canada to invest in its fraudulent “Asset Growth Program.” IFC falsely touted exclusive trading opportunities in so-called “1st tier medium bank notes” when in fact no such trading opportunities ever existed.

To sustain the fraud, Pinkett and his co-conspirators used funds from newer investors to issue “profit” payments of 4 to 6 percent per month to earlier investors. The scheme fraudulently raised approximately $40.2 million from approximately 180 investors, the majority of whom are located in Canada. Pinkett personally received more than $5.4 million in fraudulent proceeds, some of which was used to sustain IFC’s alleged investment opportunities.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Belevetz is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov.