Secretary of State Connie Lawson announced $46,000 in restitution will be returned to five Hoosier investors who lost their life savings and retirement in a Ponzi scheme. The investors were victims of convicted felon Thomas Redmond, Jr., who was sentenced to four years in prison for securities fraud in July. The investors are receiving payment from the Securities Restitution Fund to help recover a portion of their losses.
āAs is typical with most Ponzi schemes, Redmond spent all of his victimsā money, leaving them with nothing to show for their investments,ā said Secretary Lawson. āThrough the Securities Restitution Fund, these investors can recoup some of their losses to begin rebuilding their nest egg.ā
Redmond was an Indianapolis financial advisor who admitted to investigators that he began taking client funds for his own personal use in 2004, often using shared Christian beliefs to secure and maintain the trust of the victims. Redmond defrauded 10 victims, nine of whom were elderly out of more than $580,000. He concealed the misappropriation of his clients’ funds by sending them fraudulent statements which purported to show the returns on their investments. He also made payments back to some of his clients, often through funds taken from other victims as is typical in a “Ponzi” scheme.
The Securities Restitution Fund was established by House Enrolled Act 1332 in 2010. The law enables the Securities Division to leverage fines collected from violators of the Indiana Uniform Securities Act to repay victims of financial crimes. The Securities Restitution Fund does not use any taxpayer dollars.
Victims of securities violations where the illegitimate transaction occurred on or after July 1, 2010 may be eligible. In order to receive payment, victims must show proof that restitution was awarded by a state or federal court or administrative agency. The Securities Division can award payment of up to $15,000 or 25 percent of unrecovered awards, whichever is less. Victims may submit an application online for awards from the fund at myweb.in.gov/SOS/RestitutionFund/Application/Default.aspx.