Russell Laurence Sewell, of Mesa, had a change of plea hearing as part of the Mathon Fund case. Sewell entered a plea of guilty. His sentencing is set for January 22, 2013.
Defendants Guy Andrew Williams, of Mesa; Brent F. Williams, of Mesa; Douglas Edward Towler, of Scottsdale; and Duane Hamblin Slade, of Texas, are set for trial on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.
The five defendants were charged in a 40 count indictment related to a $160 million Ponzi scheme. The men were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and transactional money laundering.
Between February 2002 and April 2005, the men made numerous false statements, false representations, and material omissions to induce victims to “invest” millions of dollars in Mathon Fund I, Mathon Fund, and various other entities controlled by the defendants. The investors were told that their funds would be used to make loans to third-party borrowers at a high interest rate. In fact, the defendants and their co-conspirators simply used other investors’ money to pay back initial investors. Proceeds from the scheme also were used to pay off those who assisted in the scheme, to fund businesses and entities controlled by the defendants, and to finance the defendants’ extravagant lifestyle.
The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Securities Division of the Arizona Corporation Commission.