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Last Friday, the 209th State District Court in Palo Pinto County, Texas handed down a 60 year sentence to Ronald Keith Owens, a 73-year-old from Mineral Wells, Texas, whose sale of nonexistent bank-related investments cost investors at least $2.6 million. This is on top of the 63 months in federal prison that he must begin serving by this Thursday, January 29, 200, based on a December 17, 2008 federal court decision. I guess it is true what they say, everything is bigger in Texas!

As a reminder, a federal court also ordered Owens to pay a total of $2,582,376.79 in restitution to the hundreds of victims of his crime. On top of that, he will have to pay $550,304 to the Internal Revenue Service, once he is done "restituting." Authorities did not mention how they expected the 73-year-old to run a scam from his prison cell to pay back the over $3 million he now owes. Certainly they must realize that he will be too old for that once he gets out in just over 65 years.

As a side note, Bernie Madoff better hope that the great state of Texas does not assert jurisdiction over his little $50 billion scam, or else he could expect to rot in jail for some 1,200,000 years and that's a whole hell of a lot of years to have to spend in a Texas jail. Oh, and could you imagine the costs?... On second thought, WE better hope that Texas doesn't get him.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 23, 2009
Contact: Robert Elder, Communications, Texas State Securities Board, at 512-305-8386 (office) or 512-507-9558 (mobile)
State Securities Board investigation results in 60-year sentence for Ponzi scam operator who stole at least $2.6 million from investors

AUSTIN – Texas Securities Commissioner Denise Voigt Crawford today announced the state sentencing of Ronald Keith Owens, whose sale of nonexistent bank-related investments cost investors at least $2.6 million. A State Securities Board investigation that started in 2006 resulted in the arrest and prosecution of Owens.

Owens was sentenced to 60 years in prison today in the 209th State District Court in Palo Pinto County, Texas.

The 73-year-old Owens, based in Mineral Wells, Texas, operated a “prime bank scam,” convincing investors to put money into “Bank Credit Instrument Trading” investments that were allegedly located in Nassau, Bahamas, and Germany and Switzerland. Owens claimed he had access to these so-called prime banks, which allowed him to purchase special financial instruments on behalf of investors.

Owens promised investment returns of up to 30 percent month, but he was operating a Ponzi scam by paying early investors with money raised from newer investors. Owens also used investors’ money to pay for his business expenses and his and his wife’s personal expenses.

“Investors should be aware there are no such things as ‘prime banks’ that pay sky-high returns on exotic-sounding investments,” Commissioner Crawford said. “A simple rule of thumb is, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is – or at least it is an investment opportunity that requires a lot of due diligence by potential investors.”

Owens provided false investor account information and sent hundreds of e-mails to investors to assure them he was working to return their money.

The state sentencing follows a 63-month federal sentence Owens received last month in U.S. District Court in Dallas. The federal case was built upon the work of the Texas State Securities Board.
http://www.ssb.state.tx.us
http://www.texasinvestored.org

Source: Texas State Securities Board