Man lied about investments, military record

The Reynoldsburg man boasted to his clients that he was a former Navy SEAL who had international business expertise and could deliver huge returns on their investments.

But federal investigators discovered another story. Edward I. Campbell, 41, was never a member of the Navy special forces or an international businessman. Instead, through his investment firm, Rosewood Consulting LLC in Baltimore, Ohio, Campbell oversaw a $1.4 million investment-fraud scheme with at least 44 victims.

Yesterday in U.S. District Court, Campbell pleaded guilty to federal charges of money laundering and wire fraud in connection with the scam.

“A person who creates a web of financial lies will soon be caught up in it. Edward Campbell offered higher rates of return than normal to his clients and unfortunately these were false promises,” Ryan L. Korner, special agent in charge of the IRS Cincinnati Field Office, said in a prepared release.

Between July 2011 and June 2013, Campbell told his victims that their contributions would be put into two types of investment programs: gold-backed, historical bonds issued by China in 1913, and the exchange into U.S. dollars of Bougainville Kina currency he allegedly possessed from the autonomous region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

Campbell told clients he had access to a trading platform in which he could monetize the China bonds for a very high return, according to court documents. Investors could buy the historical bonds for $10,000 to $15,000 for returns from $50,000 to upwards of possibly $10 million per bond within 10 to 60 days.

Those who opted for the Bougainville Kina option were promised a return of $1.5 million or more from their investments within 120 days if they also hired him for a $100,000 fee.

The 44 investors didn’t receive what was promised and only a handful of them received refunds when Campbell’s promises didn’t come through. Federal investigators found that he used the money given him for personal expenses, including buying two automobiles and restaurant and hotel expenses.

As part of the plea agreement, Campbell agreed to pay $1,408,854 in restitution. A pre-sentence investigation has been ordered.

Campbell could face a maximum sentence of 30 years on the two charges.