A businessman accused of stealing over $50 million from hundreds of people in upstate New York as part of a major Ponzi scheme pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges on Tuesday, according to the state attorney general.
Miles “Burt” Marshall faces four to twelve 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 obtained an indictment against him last summer.
Marshall, 74, worked as a tax preparer and insurance salesman in Hamilton, a small community near Colgate University. For decades, he also accepted money for what was known as the “8% Fund,” which promised that much in annual interest. He accepted donations from neighbors, churches, and community organizations, with recommendations generally coming through word-of-mouth.
A bankruptcy trustee later ruled that Marshall had used additional investment funds to repay existing investors by 2011. According to the trustee, he eventually owed around $95 million in principal and interest to nearly 1,000 individuals and organizations.
According to Attorney General Letitia James, Marshall squandered his investors’ money on shopping, vacations, and restaurants.
“Miles Burton Marshall scammed his clients out of their life savings and used their hard-earned money to fuel a classic Ponzi scheme,” James said in a prepared statement.
Marshall’s attorney received an email asking comment.
Marshall is set to be sentenced in Madison County Court on June 11.
“I am surprised and a little disappointed that he did not given more time. “I don’t feel justice was served,” Dennis Sullivan, who was due around $40,000, wrote in a text message following the plea. “He has ruined so many of our lives.”
Marshall had fulfilled his commitments to pay interest and process withdrawals for many years. However, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, following a hospitalization for a heart issue and a subsequent rush on note holders demanding their money back. He reported over $90 million in liabilities and $21.5 million in assets.
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