FORT LAUDERDALE — In a startling turn of events, George Elia—the disgraced investment adviser charged with masterminding a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme that victimized members of Wilton Manors’ LGBT community—reversed his plea, entering an admission of guilt during the third day of his federal fraud trial.
Prosecutors had accused Elia, 69, of engineering an investment fraud that bilked nearly $10 million from three dozen investors, some of whom invested their life’s savings with the man.
After four of his victims testified that he had cheated them, over the course of a seven-year swindle from 2004 to 2011 that came crashing down when Elia was arrested last year in Las Vegas, Nevada while attempting to sneak back into the country.
Elia was charged with 10 fraud-related counts, including criminal charges of wire fraud, stemming from false claims he made to investors about his track record as a day-trader, and his doctoring of statements to reflect inflated profits.
Several of Elia’s victims were introduced to the day-trader by Wilton Manors resident Jim Ellis, who pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Ellis used a phony history as a trust fund brat to dupe the unsuspecting into investing in Elia’s scheme. Ellis will be sentenced on April 12; he faces up to five years in prison.
As we first reported last year in the Agenda (April 12, 2012, COVER, “Federal Authorities Detail Complaint against Oakland Park man charged in $11 Million Ponzi Scheme: ‘Rainmaker’ alleged to have Bilked Million$ from Wilton Manors Residents”), many of Elia’s victims were gay retirees living in Wilton Manors.
Elia will be sentenced on May 14 by Judge Kathleen Williams, with nine of the fraud charges each carrying up to 20 years in prison.
The convicted trader plans to contest the amount of money that his investors lost, a number that could have a bearing on the length of his prison sentence. He and his accomplice, Ellis, face civil litigation from some of their victims, although whether they will be able to recover some or all of their money from the pair isn’t certain.
