SAINT PAUL – Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman today announced a federal indictment charging Randy Miland, age 62, of White Bear Lake, with operating a Ponzi scheme through which he stole or attempted to steal more than $500,000 from purported investors. Miland made an initial appearance today before Magistrate Judge Steven E. Rau in U.S. District Court in Saint Paul.
Miland is charged with five counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering.
“As the indictment alleges, Randy Miland is a serial scam artist with no regard for his victims,” said Rothman. “He used fake investments to steal people’s life savings before, and now he’s done it again. The Commerce Fraud Bureau worked with federal authorities to stop his fraudulent schemes and protect Minnesotans.”
“IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes. We will vigorously pursue those individuals who victimize investors and violate the public trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Shea Jones of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division of the St. Paul Field Office. “The indictment of Randy Miland demonstrates the government’s determination to restore and ensure that trust.”
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, Miland was convicted in 1999 in state court with theft by swindle and ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution to the victims of his scheme. As of May 2016, Miland still owed nearly the entire amount to his victims.
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, Miland was convicted in 2006 of fraud in federal court and ordered to pay more than $250,000 in restitution to the victims. As of May 2016, Miland owed approximately $124,000 in restitution.
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, between 2010 and 2014, Miland fraudulently solicited approximately $575,000 from investors, telling them that he would use their money to invest in futures and other legitimate investments. Instead, he used their money to pay personal expenses, including court-ordered restitution to victims of his prior scams, and to make Ponzi-type payments to other purported investors.
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, Miland concealed from the new victims that he had been twice convicted of fraudulent conduct, that he was forbidden by the Minnesota Department of Commerce from offering or selling securities, and that he still owed more than $1.5 million in restitution to victims of prior schemes.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS and the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau.
