A 21-year-old Danbury man has been sentenced to federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the US Attorney’s office.
Ian Bick was sentenced to three years in federal prison and three years of supervised release.
Investigators said that Bick ran several Danbury-based companies, including This Is Where It’s At Entertainment, LLC, Planet Youth Entertainment, W&B Wholesale, LLC, and W&B Investments, LLC.
Bick obtained investments from friends, former classmates, acquaintances and their parents by promising high returns through the resale of electronics and by organizing and promoting concerts in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Investigators said Bick falsely represented the amount of profit he could generate to investors.
Authorities said Bick actually used the funds for unrelated businesses and to pay personal expenses. He also used funds to issue payments he claimed were interest payments and return of principal payments to some victims.
Bick defrauded more than 15 investors of a total of $480,635, investigators said. On November 25, 2015, a jury found Bick guilty on six counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. A judge ordered him to make full restitution to his victims.
Bick was indicted in January 2015.
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The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, US Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Department of Banking, Danbury Police Department and Hartford Police Department all participated in this investigation.