U.S. Marshals Nab "Mini-Madoffs" After Decade on Run
The couple admitted orchestrating a Ponzi scheme back in 2000 before going on the lam.
| Posted Monday, May 7, 2012, at 12:13 PM
Photograph by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.
U.S. marshals on Sunday arrested an Illinois couple who spent more than a decade on the run after admitting to defrauding friends, family, and the elderly as part of a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
The Associated Press reports that authorities managed to nab Nelson Grant Hallahan, 65, and wife Janet Hallahan, 54, thanks to a tip from an America's Most Wanted viewer.
The couple, dubbed the "Mini Madoffs" by some, is believed to have lived in several states under a number of different names during their 12 years on the lam. They were finally arrested 50 miles outside of Phoenix, where they were living separately.
The couple had pleaded guilty to money laundering, and bank and mail fraud conspiracy charges in 2000, but fled before their sentencing.
Their scam, the AP explains, involved a relatively traditional Ponzi scheme in which they promised victims significant returns on investments only to repay earlier investors with newer one's money. The couple also defrauded investors in a tanning salon that the couple sold in secret.
The couple owed about $1.2 million to investors before fleeing. It isn't exactly clear how much total money they managed to net from their schemes, but authorities note that they had managed to maintain a lavish lifestyle, including luxury cars and yachts, before going on the run.
For more, head on over to the Associated Press.
