News and Press Releases
South Dakota man pleads guilty to
using stolen identities to obtain welfare and other benefits
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS – Earlier today in federal court in St. Paul, a Golden Valley investment
adviser pleaded guilty to defrauding investors out of $1.1 million. Renee Marie Brown, age 48,
pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Brown, who was indicted on May 11, 2011, entered
her plea before United States District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson.
In her plea agreement, Brown admitted that on July 1, 2009, Brown created Investors
Income Fund X, LLC, a limited liability company located in South Dakota. Then, starting in
June of 2009, she contacted investors by telephone, email and in person, and encouraged them
to invest in Fund X. Brown also admitted that she falsely told them that Fund X was a “bond
fund” with an eight or nine-percent rate of return, and that she had invested $200,000 of her own
money in it. In truth, however, Fund X was not a bond fund, and Brown had never invested any
of her own money in it. Brown admittedly obtained $1.1 million from investors through this
scam.
For her crime, Brown faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Judge
Nelson will determine her sentence at a future hearing. This case is the result of an investigation
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Svendsen and
Kimberly M. Hare.
