March 25, 2010 - United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in Waco this afternoon, 68-year-old Julia Ann Schmidt of Whitney, Texas, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay $558,765 restitution in connection with a large-scale Ponzi scheme.
On January 13, 2010, Schmidt pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. By pleading guilty, Schmidt admitted that between April 2007 and May 2009, she fraudulently represented herself to unsuspecting individuals as an agent for Fortis Investments. On repeated occasions, she solicited money from clients promising to generate an approximate 30 precent return on their investments. Schmidt informed clients that portions of their investments would involve the Texas Ranger Museum, Hillcrest Hospital, and the Waco Riverwalk Project. According to the indictment, most, if not all, of the investors received neither their original investment nor the interest income.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Gloff.
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