Shreveport fraudster’s victims will get restitution of pennies on the dollar
By Web staff
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SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — Investors who lost more than $50 million doing business with convicted fraudster David deBerardinis will likely get only pennies on the dollar in restitution, court documents filed in federal court in Shreveport show.
deBerardinis, a Shreveport businessman, began serving a 15-year prison sentence last month after pleading guilty to running a multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme over nearly a decade. Federal prosecutors said investors loaned deBerardinis money at double-digit interest rates, believing he was a middleman in lucrative energy trades. The statements investors received were total lies, federal prosecutors and civil attorneys said, and money from new investors paid back older investors or went to deBerardinis’ personal use.
A hearing was held this week in U.S. District Court for a federal judge to approve how much restitution individual investors are entitled to.
Net losses from those seeking restitution total approximately $51 million, but authorities said the assets they have seized from deBerardinis are a small fraction of that, so investors will get little beyond what deBerardinis paid them before the scheme unraveled.
“It’s a sad footnote to an already sad story of this whole sordid affair,” said Michael Long, whose late brother was a net loser on his investment. “I think everyone’s expectation was there was no money to be confiscated to provide restitution.”
In a 28-page report filed in U.S. District Court, attorneys for the government and deBerardinis detailed the number of investors and the net losses they incurred.
The report, without naming names, also briefly mentioned investors who came out net winners:
deBerardinis’ mother-in-law is among those who lost money. She is entitled to $870,254 in restitution, the court filing said. Net losses to those who sought restitution range from $8,392 to $3.2 million. Of the 41, all but a half dozen lost six- and seven-figure amounts. Six lost more than a million. Attorneys and investors familiar with the case said the majority of victim were sophisticated investors and business people and that, while being severely hurt financially, no one lost their life savings. Federal prosecutors wouldn’t comment.
The Dallas bank which loaned deBerardinis more than $29 million before he defaulted on the loan will get $15 million from Lloyds of London insurance company. The only other payment to investors so far is a $295,000 settlement from an insurance company to three investors who sued a Shreveport businessman who steered them to deBerardinis. Federal authorities have seized a sailboat and an airplane, and prosecutors are in the process of forfeiting two vehicles, a life insurance policy, a house and a dozen bank accounts totaling just over $100,000 to pay back to investors.
deBerardinis 60, is held at the minimum-security federal prison at Oakdale in Allen Parish.
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