Upstate New York man pleads guilty to stealing more than $50M in Ponzi scheme [View all]
Source: AP
By MICHAEL HILL
Updated 5:47 PM CDT, April 28, 2026
A businessman accused of stealing more than $50 million from hundreds of people in upstate New York as part of a massive Ponzi scheme pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from the fraud, according to the state attorney general.
Miles “Burt” Marshall faces four to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree grand larceny, securities fraud and first-degree scheme to defraud, according to the attorney general’s office, which secured an indictment against him last summer.
Marshall, 74, prepared taxes and sold 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 that much in annual interest. He took money from neighbors, churches and area organizations, with referrals often coming through word-of-mouth.
A bankruptcy trustee later determined that Marshall had been using new investment money to pay off previous investors by 2011. He eventually owed almost 1,000 people and organizations about $95 million in principal and interest, according to the trustee.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/marshall-hamilton-new-york-millions-ponzi-bankruptcy-9938f706281c3837cfe4aa2bdaf4c4ed
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