New York Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog
On June 9, 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the arrest of Miles Burton Marshall, a New York tax preparer and insurance agent, pursuant to a 49-count indictment related to a Ponzi scheme Marshall reportedly operated for over three decades. Dating back to the 1990s, Marshall allegedly swindled clients into investing in his phony “Eight Percent Fund” that was purportedly used to facilitate real estate investments, collecting over $50 million from nearly 1000 investors. In reality, Marshall apparently kept the funds he collected to use for his own benefit, namely funding his other business ventures and his personal expenses. If you were an investor in Miles Burton Marshall’s “Eight Percent Fund” and lost your investment, you should speak with an experienced Ponzi scheme attorney, like the ones at Malecki Law in New York City, to determine whether your investment can be recovered.
To operate his scheme, Marshall allegedly solicited investments from his tax and insurance clients, as well as others, by promising high, consistent returns through the purchases, refurbishing, and rentals of residential properties. However, Marshall reportedly never actually used investor proceeds to purchase real estate. Instead, Marshall allegedly used the money to cover operating expenses from his tax preparation business, his printing press, and his storage unit businesses. Marshall also allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of investors’ funds on personal travel and retail expenses. If you have been defrauded through investments offered by your tax preparer or insurance agent, you should consult a knowledgeable securities fraud law firm, like Malecki Law in downtown Manhattan.
To keep his investors at bay, Marshall is said to have paid out early investors with funds received from new investors, the classic hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. Marshall is even alleged to have directed his employees to generate fraudulent account statements that falsely represented increasing account balances and profits to investors to create a sense of financial security. Given the seemingly consistent returns and doctored statements received by investors, investors were left in the dark and Marshall’s scheme was able to persist until Marshall could no longer solicit enough new investors to keep his veil of legitimacy. If your financial professional has given you account statements or other investment documents that appear doctored or too good to be true, you should review your investment documents with a seasoned investment fraud lawyer, like the lawyers at Malecki Law in New York.
The investigation revealed that, by 2016, Marshall was over $40 million in debt, yet he continued to solicit new investors to prolong his scheme until Marshall ultimately filed for bankruptcy and authorities caught on in 2023. By the time his scheme came crashing down, Marshall’s liabilities exceeded his assets by nearly $70 million, with over $90 million in debt and $50 million owed to 988 victim investors, according to sworn statements by Marshall in his bankruptcy proceedings. Marshall’s indictment was procured through the efforts of the Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau, FINRA, the SEC, and New York State Police in a two plus year investigation. In total, Marshall faces 49 felony charges, including Grand Larceny, Securities Fraud, and Scheme to Defraud, which could lead to a maximum sentence between ten and twenty years in prison. After his indictment, Marshall was released on his own recognizance but required to surrender his passport and remain in New York State.
If you have been defrauded by your stockbroker, financial advisor, or other kind of financial professional, Maleck Law stands at the ready to aid in your quest for justice. Malecki Law offers free consultations to determine the merits of your case and is prepared guide you through the process to potential recovery. Malecki Law has successfully represented countless Ponzi scheme investors and other defrauded investors throughout its twenty-five plus year history.