Lebanon woman pleads guilty to Ponzi scheme

A Lebanon woman pleaded guilty this week to running a Ponzi scheme through which she stole $415,722 from victim investors.

Terina Carney, aka Terina Humphrey, 49, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and failing to file a tax return, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Carney, who owned Riverside Lease LLC, admitted to defrauding several investors from December 2012 to January this year.

To accomplish the scheme, Carney told investors she would use their money as advance payments on behalf of a third-party business to keep the business operating while it secured long-term bank funding. Investors were told Riverside Lease held their money and there was little risk of losing their investment because the third-party business did not have direct access to it. Carney also promised investors a high rate of return - 10 to 30 percent on top of their original investment, according to the release.

However, investigators found Carney did not use the investors’ money to provide short-term financing for her business. She actually used the funds to pay other investors and her own personal expenses. Investigators also found investors were sent false monthly statements indicating bank accounts held their money, when in fact, the accounts were repeatedly emptied.

Carney, who never registered with Missouri as an investment adviser, broker or agent, admitted she deposited $520,119 between 2012 and 2014 and did not file federal income tax returns for those years, according to the release.

Under federal statutes, Carney could be sentenced to 31 years in federal prison without parole, plus a $525,000 fine. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.