A former OHL team owner and Cornwall alderman is being hunted by U.S. authorities for bilking investors out of millions of dollars.
William Wise, 62, faces 17 charges for fraud, money laundering and conspiracy indictments.
The U.S.-based charges are connected to an estimated $129-million Ponzi scheme, which was exposed in 2009 while Wise was living in Raleigh, N.C.<br /> A warrant for his arrest has been issued by the U.S. Attorney General office in San Francisco.<br /> <span id="Global">Jacquline Hoegel, 55, believed to be a close associate of Wise’s, was also charged. She was arrested and released on bond Wednesday.</span><br /> <span id="Global">The pair is accused of selling fraudulent certificates of deposit (CD) to more than 1,200 individuals who invested more than $129 million to buy them, according to the indictment, which was unsealed in San Francisco Wednesday.</span><br /> <span id="Global">As of March 2009, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shut down the scheme, purchasers had lost more than $75 million.</span><br /> Wise, Hoegel and other associates were accused of selling $68 million worth of fictitious high-yield CDs to about 375 investors through the Caribbean-based Millinnium Bank.<br /> The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said Wise has fled to Canada, but his exact whereabouts are not known.<br /> Among the items detailed in indictment against Wise are:<br /> • Wise was the signatory for an entity known as Sterling Bank and Trust, which allegedly guaranteed the CDs.<br /> • Wise dealt directly with CD purchasers, negotiating interest rates and administering investment into Millennium Bank affiliates, through a Napa, California office, which held various names.<br /> • Wise directed Millennium/Global employees to deposit CD funds into his Bank of America account, which was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and a Washington Mutual account.<br /> None of the charges against the pair have been proven in court.<br />
