PROVIDENCE – A West Warwick man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for conducting a decadeslong Ponzi scheme that defrauded millions of dollars from investors and for evading his taxes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Thomas Huling, 60, orchestrated a scheme between 2009-2018 to defraud investors by promoting several investment projects, including high-yielding bond trading platforms, a car emissions reduction technology and an online advertising and marketing company. He solicited funds for these investments by representing, among other things, that the investments would achieve quick and substantial returns with little or no risk.
Huling, a former mortgage broker, diverted the money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included high-end vehicles, fees and membership at multiple country clubs, gambling, clothing, restaurants, vacations and travel as well as improvements to his home, prosecutors said. He created and used multiple shell companies, opened more than 50 bank accounts and engaged in convoluted financial transactions between accounts to conceal his personal use of the funds, according to the Department of Justice.
When concerned investors contacted Huling about the status of their investments, he lulled them with false excuses and promises, and at other times avoided their calls. To appease certain early investors, Huling used money raised from new investors to pay them off, the DOJ said.
In September 2022, Huling pleaded guilty to charges of multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in U.S. District Court in Providence.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy on Tuesday ordered Huling to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution to the government and victims of the fraud in an amount to be determined later.