Former FBI Agent Sentenced to Prison for Ponzi Scheme

An attorney and former FBI agent was sentenced to prison for orchestrating a $4 million Ponzi scheme.  Cary Alan Burdette, from Trussville, Alabama, received a sentence of twenty years in prison, with at least five of those years to be spent in a state penitentiary.  Burdette had pled guilty in July to three counts of fraud in connection with the sale of securities.  

Burdette was indicted in 2009 on thirteen counts of securities fraud and one count each of Sale of an Unregistered Security and Sale of Securities by an Unregistered Agent and four counts of theft of property in the first degree.  According to authorities, Burdette sold promissory notes to several investors with the promise of eight to twelve percent annual returns.  Burdette represented to investors that their funds would be invested in real estate and medical technology ventures.  In total, over $4 million was entrusted to Burdette.  However, an investigation by the Alabama Securities Commission ("ASC") revealed that the majority of these funds were not invested, and instead were used by Burdette to make payments to existing investors and to pay personal expenses.  Additionally, neither Burdette nor the securities sold by Burdette were registered with the ASC.

Burdette is scheduled to report to prison on October 3rd.