Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced that a Wichita man has been sentenced to prison for securities fraud.
Jesse Wayne Harris, age 36, was sentenced in Sedgwick County District Court on August 20 to 30 months in prison for three level four felonies of securities fraud. He was taken into custody last week to begin his prison sentence.
Starting in 2016, Harris sold securities to raise investment funds for two schemes. Instead of using investor funds for the purposes Harris promised investors, Harris misappropriated the vast majority offunds, using them for his personal use and to pay other investors. Such activity is the hallmark of a “Ponzi scheme”- a fraudulent scheme where money taken from later investors is paid to earlier investors to create the false appearance that the scheme is generating returns.
In June 2018, the Securities Commissioner of Kansas was ordered to act as a receiver for Harris and his company, Harris Custom Projects LLC. The receivership has returned $500,000 in restitution back to investors.
“Ponzi schemes like this one too often result in investors losing part – if not all – of their original investment,” said Schmidt. “In this case, investors who were defrauded have received a large portion oftheir money back, which is a testament to the diligent work of our Securities Division and the Office ofthe Attorney General.”
The Securities Division of the Kansas Department of Insurance investigated the case, which was prosecuted by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
Source: Kansas Department of Insurance
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Hiscox Confirms Chairman Bloomer Died During Yacht Accident Off Coast of Sicily 
Harvard Contract Breach Claims Blaming Marsh for Its $15M Insurance Denial Filed Too Late, Judge Rules 
Australians Can Now Legally Ignore Work Calls, Emails After Hours 
WV Governor Scrambles to Halt Foreclosure of His Greenbrier Hotel 
