An unnamed former congressman from North Louisiana has been implicated in a million dollar Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded investors by claiming to invest the money in oil and gas equipment.
Donnie Laing, 39, of Youngsville, LA was last week charged with nine counts of wire fraud. He is listed as the sole owner of Capital Energy Investments of Breaux Bridge, LA.
According to the indictment that was filed last week:
It was part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendant, Donnie Laing, Jr., formed a business relationship with “Individual A”, an associate living in northeast Louisiana, who was well-known in the City of Monroe and throughout northeast Louisiana due to his former position as a United States Congressman.
It was further part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendant, Donnie Laing, Jr. enlisted the assistance of “Individual A”, to solicit money from the Ponzi Investors to, among other things, invest in Capital’s purported purchase of oil and gas equipment for use in “fracking” wells.
It was further part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that, in soliciting these monies, Donnie Laing, Jr. falsely and fraudulently represented to the Ponzi Investors that he had contracts and relationships with oil and gas companies that would allow Capital to earn high rates of return by purchasing oil and gas equipment and then leasing such equipment to oil and gas companies engaged in oil and gas exploration activities.
It was further part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendant, Donnie Laing, Jr., did not invest any of the money transferred to him by the Ponzi Investors into the promised investments. Instead, Donnie Laing, Jr., used the Ponzi Investors’ money for his own purposes.
See here the complete document.
A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. The scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from product sales or other means, and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds.
From the U. S. Attorney’s Office press release:
Laing orchestrated a Ponzi scheme whereby he and a well-known associate in northeast Louisiana, solicited money from multiple investors by falsely promising them high rates of return when they invested with his company, Capital. Laing represented that Capital would use the money to invest in oil and gas equipment, and then lease such equipment to companies engaged in oil and gas exploration activities. Throughout the scheme, Laing submitted false proposals and contracts to the Ponzi investors to persuade them to invest their money with Capital. He also used funds from new investors to make “lulling” payments to his victims to solicit additional monies and to avoid detection. Contrary to his representations, Laing used investor funds for his own purposes.
Lincoln Parish News Online 