St. George man sent to prison for Ponzi case

Courts • Arvin Lee Black also ordered to repay $13.8 million.

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A St. George man was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison on charges he operated a Ponzi scheme that took in $21 million from more than 50 victims by promising returns of 5 percent a month.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby also ordered Arvin Lee Black II to pay restitution of $13.8 million after his guilty plea to wire fraud and money laundering.

Black ran a stock day trading company called Sole Group LLC through which he enticed investors with promises of returns of as much as 5 percent a month with little risk.

Instead, Black relied on taking in money from new investors that he used to pay off earlier ones in what is known as a Ponzi scheme. Black returned about $7 million to investors, claiming they were legitimate returns. He also used funds for personal expenses, including transferring money from investors directly into a personal account.

Black is to serve a 30-day sentence in an Arizona case before reporting for his federal prison sentence on July 1.