William D. Cantrell, Jr. Ordered To Pay 1,226,989.04 In Restitution

HAMMOND – United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that, on March 10, 2016, William D. Cantrell, Jr, 61, of Valparaiso, Indiana, was sentenced before District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen for mail fraud. 

Cantrell was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release and ordered to pay 1,226,989.04 in restitution. 

According to documents filed in the case, Cantrell operated an investment firm and stole the retirement funds of 9 individual investors totaling more than 1.2 million dollars.  One of the victims, who lost over $800,000.00, the total amount of her retirement money, contacted law enforcement after attempts to retrieve some of her savings.  The attempts to retrieve money were met with fraudulent excuses, empty payment envelopes and ultimately an admission of theft by the defendant.

Several days after law enforcement contacted the defendant regarding the allegations of his thefts, he flew from Indiana to the State of California and was arrested while attempting to break into one of the victim’s home at 3:00 a.m.  He was armed with a knife and has been held in custody since his arrest in California. 

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Randall M. Stewart. 

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