LV man, two others, face federal charges in Ponzi scheme

A Las Vegas man faces federal charges in connection with what prosecutors describe as an investment fraud scheme with upward of 400 victims, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Jay Ledford, 54, Kevin Merrill, 53, of Maryland, and Cameron Jezierski, 28, of Texas, were charged in a 14-count indictment with conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. Prosecutors said the trio netted upward of $364 million in a yearslong Ponzi scheme “with the potential to victimize even more people.”

Ledford, who also lived in Texas, was ordered held without bail during a hearing in Las Vegas this week, while Jezierski was released under supervision. Merrill was ordered held in Maryland.

“The defendants lured investors through an elaborate web of lies, duping them into paying millions of dollars into this Ponzi scheme,” Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur said in a release. “Most of these investors are just learning that they have been victimized.”

Prosecutors said Ledford and Merrill invited investors to join them in purchasing consumer debt portfolios, and falsely told investors that they would use the money to flip debt for a profit, the release said.

The trio created phony companies with names similar to actual consumer debt sellers or brokers and opened bank accounts in the names of the fake companies, the release said. The defendants used the money to renovate homes in Nevada, Maryland, Texas and Florida, purchase luxury automobiles, jewelry, boats and a share in a jet plane, gamble $25 million at casinos and “support a lavish lifestyle,” the release said.

Authorities want any potential victims to complete a questionnaire at fbi.gov/merrillledford or email merrillledford@fbi.gov.