Greenville Man Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison for Ponzi Scheme

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Greenville man was sentenced Monday to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release for mail fraud in connection with a multi-year investment fraud scheme. Willard Timothy Sutton, age 64, pled guilty to the charge on February 26, 2025.  The court also ordered Sutton to pay $8,986,162 in restitution to the victims of the offense.

“The defendant orchestrated a complex and brazen Ponzi scheme that exploited the trust of hard-working North Carolinians, based upon his own greed,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar. “We are committed to holding those accountable who prey on the citizens in our communities for personal gain.”

"Mr. Sutton ran a local business for many years, purporting to help those with poor or no credit get much needed vehicle loans. When he ran into financial trouble, he chose to commit a federal crime rather than admit his business was failing. The FBI hopes today's sentence and restitution offers some sense of justice to those who trusted him to legitimately invest their hard-earned money," said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, between at least 2019 and 2023, Sutton conducted a largescale Ponzi scheme in connection with an investment program offered through his business, Greenville Auto World, LLC (GAW).  As a result of the scheme, more than 65 victims in Eastern North Carolina suffered net losses totaling approximately $9 million.  Federal investigators estimate that Sutton collected more than $63 million in investor funds during the offense period.

GAW was a “buy here pay here” (BHPH) car dealership.  BHPH dealerships enable customers with poor or no credit history to finance the purchase of a vehicle directly through the dealership, rather than through a bank or credit union.  Such loans typically carry significantly higher interest rates than traditional car loans.  Between approximately 2012 and 2023, as part of an investment program sponsored, promoted, and administered by GAW, Sutton sold BHPH finance contracts to outside investors through direct solicitation, referrals, and word-of-mouth advertisement.

Beginning in approximately 2019, Sutton falsely and fraudulently led BHPH investors to believe that their investments were safe and secure, and that GAW was collecting sufficient repayments from loan customers to be able to fully pay the principal and interest owed to them.  In truth, GAW was collecting millions from investors, but it did not have the means to service the debt through BHPH revenue or any other legitimate business income.

To conceal GAW’s financial condition, and forestall the collapse of his business, Sutton operated the BHPH program as a Ponzi scheme in which Sutton would (in a typical transaction) sell a legitimate loan contract to one investor and then sell one or more false and fabricated versions of that same contract to other investors without their knowledge.  Sutton then used the proceeds of the fraudulent sales to pay off earlier investors. Among other things, the defendant forged loan customer signatures to the fake contracts and provided fake title documents to investors to convince them that their investments were appropriately secured.   

In approximately 2022, to generate additional funds to meet GAW’s massive debts to investors, Sutton solicited some BHPH investors to help finance GAW’s vehicle inventory.  Sutton falsely and fraudulently represented to these investors that he was using their funds to purchase vehicles when, in fact, the funds were being used to conceal and perpetuate the Ponzi scheme.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after the sentencing concluded. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Field Office, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig prosecuted the case for the government.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:24-CR-83-M.