Final Defendant Pleads Guilty to $550M Ponzi Scheme--One of the Largest Ever Charged in Maryland

Jay Ledford Created False Documents to Conceal the Fraud; SEC Has Related Civil Action


Baltimore, Maryland – Jay B. Ledford, age 55, of Westlake, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and a money-laundering transaction in excess of $10,000, arising from a $550 million investment fraud scheme that operated from 2013 through September 2018. Co-defendants Kevin B. Merrill, age 53, of Towson, Maryland, and Cameron R. Jezierski, age 28, of Fort Worth, Texas, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a parallel civil complaint in this matter.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Moore of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Robert W. Manchak of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General.

“Jay Ledford created false documents to help lure investors through an elaborate web of lies, duping them into paying millions of dollars into this Ponzi scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “The effects of this kind of fraud can be devastating. As a result of this scheme, a number of victims have lost their life savings. I am proud of the work of federal prosecutors, FBI agents, and our SEC partners whose efforts interrupted this ongoing fraud scheme before the defendants could victimize even more people.”

According to his plea agreement, Ledford was a certified public accountant in Texas, starting his own practice in Amarillo in 1996 and later expanding to Dallas, Texas. In 1999, Ledford met Kevin Merrill in Dallas, when Merrill was a salesman for a Baltimore company that sold supplies for X-ray machines for hospitals and doctors’ practices. Ledford and Merrill became friends, attending sporting events and visiting casinos together. Ledford prepared Merrill’s taxes for several years.