Michael Eugene Kelly (6 October 1949 – 22 December 2013) was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico who operated a number of fraudulent resort enterprises and the Avanti Motor Corporation. In 2007, with 23 others, he was accused by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

and the

United States Attorney's Office United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

of operating an enormous

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...

that defrauded over a thousand elderly and senior citizens of their retirement money. It was later disclosed that 7,000 victims from throughout the U.S. lost more than $342 million.

Fraud charges

Kelly was arrested at the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

on December 22, 2006. He claimed to earn $55,000 a year and had only $48,000 in assets, yet he offered a private jet, four yachts and a race track as collateral at his detention hearing. All of his assets were located outside the U.S. He was denied bail and remanded to the

Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago The Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago (MCC Chicago) is a United States federal prison in Chicago, Illinois, that holds imprisoned men and women of all security levels before and during court proceedings in the Northern District of Illinoi ...

. Kelly attempted to avoid indictment by arranging a

plea agreement A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

that included paying restitution to the victims. On 14 May 2008, he pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of fraud and was remanded in custody.About Michael Eugene Kelly
Unofficial anti-fraud website, which includes a timeline of the proceedings On April 14, 2009, a court permanently enjoined him from violating sections of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (also called the Exchange Act, '34 Act, or 1934 Act) (, codified at et seq.) is a law governing the secondary trading of securities (stocks, bonds, and debentures) in the United States of America. A land ...

. On June 30, 2012, he remained in prison as the court liquidated assets with a view to providing partial restitution to victims of the Ponzi scheme. In December 2012, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison with a $10-million bond to secure lenient periods of house arrest for treatment of

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

. Kelly died on December 22, 2013, in South Bend, Indiana.

References

External links

SEC vs. Michael E Kelly, Michael P Kelly, Donald L Kelly and 23 others

Final news item, 27 October 2006 * Brady-Lunny E
SEC: B-N man defrauded seniors of over $6.4 million
' Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 12 September 2007
Mexico Timeshare News
at The Gatehouse website, 6 September 2014
Michael E. Kelly Pleads Guilty in First Stage of Resolving $500 Million Timeshare Ponzi Scheme
at Inside the Gate website, 14 December 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Michael Eugene American construction businesspeople 1949 births 2013 deaths