NEWS RELEASE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
A. COURTNEY COX, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
Nine Executive Drive, Fairview Heights, Illinois 62208, Telephone (618) 628-3700
For Immediate Release JUNE 25, 2009
MARION BUSINESSMAN SENTENCED FOR MAIL FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING
A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on June 25, 2009, JOHN ROBERT HOOLE, 59, of Marion, Illinois was sentenced in federal district court in Benton on the charges of Mail Fraud and Engaging in a Monetary Transaction Over $10,000 in Criminally Derived Property. The district court sentenced HOOLE to 60-months’ imprisonment. The court also ordered HOOLE to pay restitution to victims in the amount of $753,422.55.
As part of the plea on February 26, 2009, defendant HOOLE admitted that from approximately July 11, 2003, and continuing until approximately April of 2008, he engaged in a fraudulent investment scheme by willfully making misrepresentations to victims in order to solicit their investments. HOOLE routinely told his investors that the investments were low risk and guaranteed, when in fact, HOOLE knew that he was going to use the investor’s money to pay back other investors or to pay for his personal expenses. HOOLE promised investors he would provide them with the documentation for their investments, but instead gave them little or no documentation. The documentation that he did give investors was fraudulent. HOOLE promised investors a high return per month on their investment. In truth, HOOLE knew that the victims’ money would not be invested, and that the only alleged return some investors would receive would be other victim’s funds. HOOLE admitted as part of the plea that his scheme resulted in a net loss of at least $753,422.55.
The charges and convictions were the result of an investigation conducted by the Illinois Securities Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, the Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service/Criminal Investigations, and with the assistance of the Marion, Illinois Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman Smith.
People who believe they have been a victim of securities fraud should contact the Illinois Securities Department at 1-800-628-7937.