NC man accused in $7 million Ponzi scheme pleads guilty to wire fraud, money laundering

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A Wilmington man accused of running a $7 million Ponzi scheme has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.

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The U.S. Department of Justice says Shawn Edward Good entered his plea Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers Jr. and faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced.

Prosecutors said Good bilked at least 12 people out of $7,246,300 from 2012 to February 2022.

Good was an investment advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Wilmington who solicited investments for real estate projects and tax-free municipal bonds, saying they would pay returns of up to 10 percent over three- or six-month terms.

Prosecutors say he instead spent the money on a home in Wilmington and a condo in Florida, along with luxury vehicles including a Mercedes-Benz, a Porsche Boxster and an Alfa Romeo Stelvio and vacations to Paris, Italy and Las Vegas.