Colorado Sports Booster Gets Six Years for Ponzi Scheme

A Colorado man was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay restitution to investors following his conviction on charges of securities fraud from what authorities called a Ponzi scheme.  Jerry Brumit, 68, was a well-known real estate agent and sports booster in the Colorado town of Fort Collins, where he was once a broker at Re/Max Alliance of Northern Colorado.  Authorities alleged Brumit solicited investors for his scheme from his previous employment at Re/Max.  

According to the indictment, Brumit operated his scheme from December 2006 to June 2009 and promised investors the chance to double their money through investments in Mexican development plans, among other deals.  Instead, Brumit spent the money on personal expenses and to repay earlier investors.  He pled guilty in May to two counts of securities fraud, and faced up to an eight-year sentence.

Brumit was sentenced to six years in the Department of Corrections, which means that confinement in a halfway house is a possibility.  Along with the sentence, Brumit was ordered to pay more than $600,000 in restitution to investors.