In 2013, Meyer Wilson was investigating claims surrounding former Ohio realtor Brenda Ashcraft that she defrauded investors out of millions of dollars. Recently, she pleaded guilty to these charges.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, former Milford realtor Brenda Ashcraft has pleaded guilty to defrauding investors out of $15 million between 2009 and 2013.
Securities fraud lawyers at Meyer Wilson began an investigation into Ashcraft back in 2013 after being contacted by one of the victims and learning that she had been charged by a federal grand jury with defrauding investors via a real estate investment trust (REIT) scheme.
According to Ashcraft’s indictment, while she owned and managed French Manor Properties, she promised investors that their investment dollars would be secured by real estate and that they would receive a 40% annual ROI. Eventually, investors began noticing that Ashcraft’s checks were bouncing, prompting a number of civil lawsuits to recover investment losses.
The press release announcing Ashcraft’s guilty plea states that Ashcraft used money from her newest investors to pay back older investors, siphoning off the rest of the money for her own personal expenses, including season tickets for the Cincinnati Reds.
The charges Ashcraft pleaded guilty to included –
Ashcraft turned herself in to authorities Tuesday, April 14 just hours after her trial was set to commence.
