Forest man pleads guilty in $1 million investment scheme [The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.]

June 14--A Forest man pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud Wednesday in a scheme that cost investors close to a million dollars.

Michael Todd Crosswhite, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Norman Moon, and agreed to pay $943,684 in restitution to his victims.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Brian McGinn said Crosswhite was working from his home as a financial consultant under the umbrella of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.

Between February 2009 and July 2011, McGinn said, Crosswhite engaged in unauthorized transactions, including paying investors with other investors' money, moving funds between accounts without authorization and sinking investors' money in risky investments.

Crosswhite faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and 10 years for the money laundering charge.

Crosswhite admitted he liquidated the investment accounts of several victims without their knowledge, eventually using funds himself, losing them in questionable investments or floating them back and forth to pay off victims' accounts.

McGinn counted six victims and approximately 20 transactions related to the scheme.

In addition to the prison sentence, Crosswhite could face a fine of up to $250,000 on each charge.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Campbell County Sheriff's Office and the Amherst County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charlene Day and C. Patrick Hogeboom, III, are prosecuting the case.

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