Former Marion Investment Broker Sentenced To More Than Nine Years For Fraud, Money Laundering, And Tax Evasion

A former investment broker was sentenced today, to more than nine years in federal prison.

Randy Beltramea, age 49, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to making false statements to banks, defrauding investors, and evading taxes.

In a plea agreement, Beltramea admitted that in 2009 and 2010, he devised a scheme to defraud former investors by soliciting money from them under false pretenses.  In particular, Beltramea admitted telling former investors that their money was to be invested in Subway sandwich shop restaurants, when he actually intended to, and did, use their money in his own real estate investment and for his own personal expenses.  In connection with soliciting money from one of the investors, Beltramea provided the investor with a promissory note on which he forged the signature of another person who was involved in buying a Subway restaurant.  In fact, that other person did not give Beltramea permission to use or sign his name to the promissory note.  Beltramea also admitted that he moved some of the proceeds from the fraud into a bank account under his mother’s name for the purpose of trying to hide the source of the money and in an effort to evade taxes.  The IRS had previously imposed a tax lien in excess of $320,000 against Beltramea because he had not filed tax returns or paid taxes since 2001.  Finally, Beltramea admitted that he obtained loans and loan extensions from two banks by providing them with false financial statements and with tax returns he falsely represented had been filed with the IRS.

Beltramea was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.  Noting Beltramea was an “unrepentant flim flam artist,” Chief Judge Reade sentenced to 111 months’ imprisonment.  He was also ordered to make $376,488.27 in restitution to his victims.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Beltramea is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys C.J. Williams and Jacob Schunk and investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. 

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 13-20-LRR.