Arlington Man Sentenced 36 Months for $40 Million Ponzi Scheme

ALEXANDRIA, VAPreston David Pinkett II, age 70, of Arlington, Va., was sentenced to 36 months in prison for engaging in a massive Ponzi scheme that raised more than $40 million in fraudulent payments from investors. Pinkett was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $18,774,989 in restitution. On Dec. 2, 2008, Pinkett pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud involving a fraudulent scheme he operated from January 2004 to December 2006. Court records show that as president and CEO of Arlington-based International Fiduciary Corp. (IFC), Pinkett and his co-conspirators used IFC to solicit investors in the United States and Canada to invest in its fraudulent Asset Growth Program. IFC falsely touted exclusive trading opportunities in so-called 1st tier medium bank notes when in fact no such trading opportunities ever existed. To sustain the fraud, Pinkett and his co-conspirators used funds from newer investors to issue profit payments of 4 to 6 percent per month to earlier investors. The scheme fraudulently raised approximately $40.2 million from approximately 180 investors, the majority of whom are located in Canada. Pinkett personally received more than $5.4 million in fraudulent proceeds, some of which was used to sustain IFCs alleged investment opportunities. This case is being investigated by the FBIs Washington Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.