businessman Charged with stealing more than $50 million Hundreds of people in upstate New York, part of a massive Ponzi scheme, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from the fraud, according to the state’s attorney general.
Myles “Burt” Marshall faces 4 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree grand larceny, securities fraud and first-degree scheme to defraud, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which issued an indictment against him last summer.
Marshall, 74, was preparing taxes and selling insurance in the quaint village of Hamilton, near Colgate University. For decades, he also took money for what was sometimes called the “8% Fund,” which guaranteed such a large amount of annual interest. He took money from neighbors, churches and local organizations, and referrals often came through word of mouth.
A bankruptcy trustee later determined that Marshall was using new investment money to pay off earlier investors by 2011. Ultimately, he owed nearly 1,000 people and organizations about $95 million in principal and interest, according to the trustee.
Prosecutor Letitia James said Marshall also spent his investors’ money on shopping, vacations and restaurants.
“Miles Burton Marshall defrauded his clients, stole their savings, and used their hard-earned money to fuel a classic Ponzi scheme,” James said in a prepared statement.
An email seeking comment was sent to Marshall’s attorney.
Marshall is scheduled to be sentenced in Madison County Circuit Court on June 11.
“I’m shocked and a little upset that he didn’t get more time. I don’t feel justice was done,” Dennis Sullivan, who was owed about $40,000, wrote in a text message after the plea. “It has ruined so many of our lives.”
Marshall has kept its promises to pay interest and make withdrawals for many years. But he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023 after being hospitalized with a heart condition and then hounding note holders to demand their money back. It declared more than $90 million in liabilities and $21.5 million in assets.