A 39-year-old Colorado native, John Reinholdt II has been found guilty of charges of a Ponzi scheme to defraud Colorado and Arizona banks, according to the Denver Business Journal.
Reinholdt may face up to 24 years in prison. The charges are tied to allegations that he used at least 19 Lafayette-based businesses, including Jaguar Group LLC, Welend Associated Group, Dakota Lending, and EZ Loans, to fraudulently obtain money from banks.
Prosecutors maintain that since 2006, Reinholdt has utilized his operating businesses to secure loans at interest rates between 5 and 7 percent. He then purportedly used those funds to make subprime loans with interest rates of 11.5 percent and higher.
Victims allege that he then used money raised from new loans to pay back older lenders, at times using fictitious (or "straw") homebuyers.
Denver District Court jury members voted to convict Reinholdt of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, as well as conspiracy to violate the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act. Jurors also convicted Reinholdt of seven counts of defrauding a secured creditor, nine counts of forgery, and 14 counts of theft-all felonies.
Reinholdt's sentencing is set for March 4, 2011, and he could spend decades in jail for his alleged fraudulent and Ponzi scheme activities.
