Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Investors in Ponzi Scheme that Took in Over $27 Million

Memphis, TN – A Florida man has pled guilty to his part in defrauding investors through a company called Peoples Equity Group (PEG), an investment company based in Miami, Florida, that operated from 2021 to 2024.  D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the guilty plea today.

Dakota A. Smith, 34, of Miami, Florida, pled guilty on November 18, 2025, before United States District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  According to information presented in court, Smith and his co-conspirator defrauded investors by misrepresenting to them that PEG owned small, profitable companies in e-commerce and aviation. Smith solicited investments based on promises that the investors would obtain ownership interests in the companies owned by PEG and its affiliated entities.  In fact, Smith and his co-conspirator knew that neither PEG nor its affiliated entities had any ownership interest or control over the companies in marketed.

As a part of the fraudulent scheme, Smith presented fraudulent financial documents which purportedly showed the financial success of the acquired companies while on monthly video calls with investors located across the United States, including investors in West Tennessee and abroad.

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2026. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "Ponzi schemes and crimes of dishonesty do not pay and will be exposed. This case represents our commitment to root out fraudulent schemes, protect investors, hold offenders accountable for their dishonest criminal conduct, and to recover ill-gotten proceeds on behalf of victims.”

"This elaborate investment fraud scheme defrauded investors of over $27 million," said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “The FBI will continue to investigate those who attempt to defraud unsuspecting Americans of their hard-earned money. It is thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the FBI Memphis Resident Agency’s White Collar Crime Squad and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee that this scheme was detected and stopped.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

The case was prosecuted on behalf of the government by Assistant United States Attorney Scott P. Smith.

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