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Seguin man faces federal fraud charges
Published July 19, 2009
SAN ANTONIO — A 54-year-old Seguin man has been indicted on federal fraud charges that could send him to prison for the rest of his life in connection with an alleged Ponzi investment scheme operated in three states.
A federal grand jury for the Western District of Texas on Wednesday handed up an indictment against Jeffrey C. Perry alleging 10 counts of wire fraud in connection with 10 payments totaling $230,000 received under false pretenses from two California victims who were identified only by their initials in the document.
Perry, who is the husband of Seguin attorney Deborah Perry, was taken into custody by federal authorities who arrested him Thursday at the Guadalupe County Courthouse.
The suspect’s wife represented him at a detention hearing before Federal District Judge Pamela A. Mathy. Perry posted $25,000 unsecured bail and was released from custody pending arraignment scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 29.
If proved at trial, wire fraud is a violation of Title 18, Chapter 63, Section 1343 of the United States Code punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison.
The three-page indictment alleges Perry ran an investment scam against victims in Texas, California and Ohio beginning possibly in 2004.
The document further alleges Perry “knowingly and willfully devised a scheme to defraud various individuals and to obtain money from them by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.”
The indictment says Perry claimed to own the rights to a process for manufacturing a cultured marble material he called “Culture Pro” that he claimed to have patented for making kitchen and bathroom fixtures.
As part of the scheme, the indictment says, Perry “offered an interest in a partnership to develop and promote Culture Pro to various individuals in exchange for them providing Defendant with money,” telling victims he would use their invested money for product testing, equipment and material purchases, marketing, business facilities and other expenditures relating to making the product a marketable commodity.
Perry also told “investors” he was working with companies who were interested in either licensing or purchasing the product or purchasing his “partnership.”
Instead, the document alleges, Perry spent their money “for personal uses including but not limited to the settlement of lawsuits, to assist his wife in starting up her new law practice, to purchase a tractor, to repay lenders to prevent foreclosure on his residence, for rental of vacation property, for college tuition and support money for his son, to purchase jewelry, to make car payments and to buy a bull.”
The indictment lists 10 transactions going back to 2006 with victims whose initials are “W.O.” and “M.O.”
The Seguin Gazette Enterprise was unable to reach Jeffrey or Deborah Perry Friday, or Assistant U.S. Attorney William Harris, who is prosecuting Perry.
Special Agent Eric Vasas, spokesman for the San Antonio FBI, said investigators believe Perry perpetrated a “Ponzi scheme” on his victims.
“It’s basically a confidence fraud,” Vasas said. “It’s what we consider a white collar confidence scheme.”
Vasas said the crime is named for Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who became notorious in 1910 for a fraud in which he paid the returns on older “investments” by using the money “invested” by subsequent investors. The system falls apart because the earnings are less than the payments.
“In this case, it’s alleged he obtained investors’ money for a plan or a product that doesn’t exist,” Vasas said.
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