York Man Pleads Guilty To Bilking Mainers Out Of Millions

A York man has pleaded guilty to cheating Mainers out of millions in a giant Ponzi-type scheme.

Federal prosecutors say 76-year-old William Bischoff defrauded more than two dozen clients with his scheme, that was run out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He convinced clients to invest money through his company, Genesis Investments Group, to be used for real estate investments, start-up businesses, high-yield endeavors, and more. But instead of investing the money, Bischoff used it to pay off personal expenses.

The Portland Press Herald reports Bischoff stole more than $4 million dollars from investors and failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal taxes. Many of his victims were family friends or relatives of clients in the scheme that lasted over 8 years, between 2009 and 2017.

Bischoff pleaded guilty to the charges against him and is expected to be sentenced in June.