Gatlinburg man accused of Ponzi scheme pleads guilty
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By ERICA ESTEP
6 News Anchor/Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Dennis Bolze, the Gatlinburg man who masterminded a Ponzi scheme, changed his plea Tuesday to guilty on all six counts against him.
Bolze, 60, pleaded guilty in federal court in Knoxville to three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. His pleas were entered before Judge Thomas Varlan.
The scheme was in operation from April 2002 through December 2008.
According to court documents, Bolze has admitted he perpetrated a scheme to defraud individuals of millions of dollars invested with him, and his companies, Centurion Asset Management, Inc. and Advanced Trading Services, Inc.
Bolze told investors he would invest all their funds in the companies' day-trading of E-mini NASDAQ futures contracts and E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts.
However, he diverted the new funds to existing investors. This made existing investors think they were receiving returns on their investment.
Bolze has also admitted that he encouraged additional investments and discouraged withdrawals by providing fake documents that showed his companies had made profitable returns on their investments.
He also posted the fake day trading results at www.accesscam.net.
Bolze admitted that through his scheme, he received $21,584,189 from investors, but actually invested only $1,601,188 on their behalf.
Over the course of the scheme, he collectively experienced a substantial net loss. Of the $21,584,189 he received, $9,626,620 was returned to existing investors to make them think their investments were safe and profitable.
Bolze said he used the proceeds to buy personal properties.
B.J. Byars was the only Bolze victim in federal court Tuesday. She said he drained the retirement she and her husband saved.
Byars said she hardly recognized Bolze. "He's lost so much weight and he's aged, probably I'd say he's aged 20 years. He looked like a much older man. I'm sure that being in jail will do that to you."
Another investor, Carol Muszick spoke to 6 New by phone from her home in Gatlinburg. "What I want is for him to spend the rest of his life in jail for what he's done to all of us and for his family to make restitution because he certainly will never be able to."
A man named Rupert from the United Kingdom also lost his house and his life savings to Bolze's scheme.
"Now I'm left 74, going on 75, living not much better than a pauper thanks to Mr. Bolze. While he was building his Disneyland palace up in the mountains of Tennessee, he was ruining many of us just like he's ruined me," Rupert said.
Bolze's sentencing hearing will be held on April 15, 2010. Bolze could receive a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, along with a $250,000 fine for each of the indictment's wire fraud counts.
Plus, he could receive a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for each of the indictment's money laundering counts.
Bolze also has to forfeit all the property that can be traced to the proceeds of Ponzi scheme.
His wife and children haven't been charged in this case.
There's still a bankruptcy case pending against Bolze. All his property will be liquidated to pay back his debt. It's still unclear if his victims will get any money back.
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