Office of the Attorney General
Louisville Man Sentenced For Involvement In Ponzi-Like Scheme

Attorney General Jack Conway and Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, Candace G. Hill, have announced the sentencing of Roger W. Jones, 54, of Louisville, for selling investments as an unregistered broker/dealer and for his role in a Ponzi-like scheme known as Semper Libera. The case was investigated by the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Jim Lesousky prosecuted the case.

Jones was sentenced on May 27 to 21 months in prison following his guilty plea in August 2008 to six counts of selling securities without having been a registered broker with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as required by law. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson, III also ordered Jones to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his release from prison. He is also required to pay $181,096 in restitution to the victims of his crimes, many of whom are elderly.

“Sadly, the elderly are often targets of these types of fraudulent investment schemes. My office is committed to fighting the financial exploitation of the elderly, which can have as devastating an impact as physical abuse,” said General Conway.

Jones admitted during his guilty plea to selling investments on six separate occasions in 2003, in an entity known as Semper Libera, without having been a registered broker. The investments Jones sold occurred between March and December 2003 and ranged in amounts from $5,000 to $20,000.

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