Las Vegas Businessman Sentenced to Prison for $5M Fraud Scheme

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas business owner and operator was sentenced to 34 months in prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to wire fraud for falsely soliciting more than $5 million in funding for his digital ads business.

According to court filings, Robert Cortez Marshall, 43, ran a Ponzi scheme between January 2014 and April 2015, collecting over $5 million from more than 200 unknowing investors for his company R.B.J. Generational Wealth Management LLC d/b/a Adz on Wheelz.

He devised a deception scheme in which he falsely claimed that: (1) Adz on Wheelz owned and operated a fleet of luxury vehicles that could be customized for digital advertising; (2) Adz on Wheelz had already received millions of dollars in contracts from advertisers; (3) investors would receive a guaranteed weekly royalty payment; and (4) investors could cancel at any time or receive a refund of their investment.

Marshall, in reality, would use funds raised from new investors to make “royalty payments” to previous investors. He allegedly used investor monies for personal needs and transferred investor funds to other accounts under his control. Approximately $3.5 million was lost by investors as a result of this fraud.

“The defendant wined and dined his investors and promised annual returns on investments of more than 200%,” said U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada. “The United States Attorney’s Office is dedicated to prosecuting individuals who exploit and defraud others for profit.”

“While financial crimes such as Ponzi schemes are not violent, they are certainly not victimless,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans. “Under the appearance of an established firm Mr. Marshall sought investments from individuals and earned their trust, swindling more than 200 victims out of more than $5 million for his personal benefit. The FBI will continue to collaborate with our partners to investigate financially destructive scams and bring fraud victims to justice.”

The FBI investigated the matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jim Fang and Tony Lopez.

Credits: 2News