Williamston Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in $1.3 Million Stock-Trading Ponzi Scheme

GRAND RAPIDS, MIMark Richard Hamlin, 28, of Williamston, Michigan, pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Hamlin faces up to 20 years imprisonment as a result of the conviction. Under his plea agreement, he must pay restitution to his victims in an amount currently estimated by the parties to be $1,312,862. Hamlin admitted at his plea hearing that he set up a stock trading company known as Kingdom First Trading (KFT) and solicited investors by promising higher than market rate returns. Hamlin consistently lost money in trading, and concealed his insolvency by e-mailing fraudulent account statements to his investors. The statements falsely assured investors that they were earning sizeable profits and accumulating large balances. Hamlin further concealed his insolvency by diverting money from new investors to pay earnings to earlier investors. As a result, investors left their money with Hamlin, and in some instances contributed more. In addition to using investor money to pay earnings, Hamlin diverted a portion of the money to his own use for rent, automobiles and jewelry.