Broker Pleads Guilty to $2 Mil Ponzi Scheme

A former Ponte Vedra Beach financial broker pleaded guilty this afternoon to using $2 million he stole from 22 elderly investors to pay for cars, credit card purchases and other luxury items.

Michael Joseph DiMare, 51, pleaded guilty to mail fraud for selling 22 people fake investment opportunities he said would show quarterly returns of about 8 percent. Many of the investors in what became a Ponzi scheme were from Northeast Florida, including some in their 80s.

One 87-year-old woman invested about $1.4 million with DiMare and had $72,000 stolen, said Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Tysen Duva.

Duva told U.S. Magistrate Thomas Morris that DiMare is now under further investigation following allegations of his involvement with bank fraud, but details were not provided.

DiMare was freed after signing for a $100,000 unsecured bond and promising to look for work and not attempt to seek investments from anyone. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the mail fraud charge.

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Former Ponte Vedra Beach Broker Accused of Bilking Elderly Out of $2Mil in Ponzi Scheme