A Jacksonville insurance salesman pleaded guilty to four felony counts stemming from an investment scam that included a large number of victims who were current or former Duval County teachers and school administrators, according to federal prosecutors.
Anderson Scott Hall, 49, pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a news release.
Hall was accused of operating an investment scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors from about 1996 through 2011.
The news release said many of the investors were active or retired Duval County school employees who invested retirement funds with Hall, including from a program commonly known as DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program).
The scheme involved collecting money from investors and promising interest rates sometimes above 12 percent.
Hall was accused of failing to invest the funds and sometimes making paying partial payments to investors, as in a Ponzi scheme.
Prosecutors said Hall created false documents indicating money was invested legitimately and used investors’ money to pay for personal expenses and to buy commercial property and luxury cars.