Lake Norman mansion owner pleads guilty to swindling investors, feds say

Two Lake Norman men, one who owns a lakefront mansion and the other who owns a lakefront home, pleaded guilty Thursday to wire-fraud conspiracy, admitting they stole from unsuspecting investors, federal prosecutors said.

Cornelius residents Marlin Hershey and Dana Bradley, both 53, coaxed dozens of victims to invest in unregistered securities, U.S. Attorney Dena King said in a news release, as part of “orchestrating a large-scale investment scheme.”

The men were indicted in U.S. District Court in Charlotte last year for promoting securities through Huntersville-based Performance Holdings and other companies they and unnamed others controlled.

According to a 2022 grand jury bill of indictment, Hershey and Bradley reaped millions of dollars in undisclosed commissions from selling securities and never disclosed that to their investors, according to court documents. The typically 10% commissions violated federal securities laws, prosecutors said.

The men repaid loans and previous investors with money from new investors, court records show.

Prosecutors said last year that the scheme involved $7.5 million in losses to investors.

But in a plea agreement for Bradley that was reached Tuesday, and provided to the Observer by his attorney, that 2022 indictment will be dismissed after the court accepts the plea. The new plea agreement says the amount of loss in the case was “in excess of $150,000 but less than $250,000.”

Hershey did not return messages from The Charlotte Observer Thursday night.

Lake Norman waterfront homes

Hershey and his wife live in a $2.5-million, 6,465-square-foot waterfront mansion on Fisherman’s Rest Court, Mecklenburg County public records show.

Bradley and his wife own a $1.4-million, 4,651-square-foot waterfront home on Waterview Drive, according to public records.

Undisclosed investment troubles

Court records don’t name the victims of Hershey and Bradley’s scheme, which lasted from 2009 to 2021.

Hershey and Bradley also never told investors about their previous investment troubles.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Hershey in the 2000s with insider trading, according to court documents. In 2009, Bradley was sued by an investor who alleged “deceptive trade practices” in a real estate project, according to last year’s indictment.

Charge carries up to 20 years in prison

Hershey and Bradley are free on bond until they are sentenced at a later date, prosecutor said.

Wire fraud conspiracy carries up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

On Thursday, King thanked the North Carolina Secretary of State Securities Division and the FBI for leading the joint investigation.

CORRECTION:A previous version of this story had a headline that incorrectly stated the amount of money involved in the plea agreement. The story also cited a 2022 indictment detailing the amount of money prosecutors said was at issue in the case. But a new indictment this week cited a much lower figure. The story also cited a 2022 forfeiture amount that prosecutors would seek. The new indictment cited a much lower figure.

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