US Prosecutors Charge Three Men in $364 Million Ponzi Scheme

The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hangs on the wall at SEC headquarters in Washington, on June 24, 2011. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON—Federal prosecutors have accused three men of portraying themselves as investment professionals and using a phony portfolio of consumer debt to defraud hundreds of unwary investors out of tens of millions of dollars as part of a $364 million Ponzi scheme.

Kevin Merrill of Maryland, 53, Jay Ledford of Texas and Nevada, 54, and Cameron Jezierski of Texas, 28, misused millions of dollars to maintain a lavish lifestyle, according to an indictment unsealed on Sept. 18 in a federal court in Baltimore.