A former treasurer of a church's charitable foundation in Dallas was given a sentence of over seven years in federal prison for committing fraud. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton, made the announcement, detailing that Thomas Calhoun Bain, 75, had pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud back in March. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle also ruled that Bain is to reimburse around $1.7 million to various victims.
Operating from 2016 to 2022, Mr. Bain maintained the role of managing the distribution of monetary donations for gospel-based initiatives. The plea papers indicate that he deceived the foundation into issuing 15 large donations to an entity under pretenses. Bain directed that the donations be funneled through this entity, supposedly to maintain the anonymity of the original donator. Instead of passing the funds on to other charities, Bain siphoned off approximately $1.4 million.
The funds he embezzled were used to support a lavish lifestyle, including the rent for a high-end home in Highland Park, memberships at exclusive clubs, and trips at home and abroad, among other luxuries. Simultaneously, Bain ran a deceptive operation through his company, BainTrade, where he presented himself as a professional "Trader," promising investors an 8 percent annual return on their investments and an even split of profits beyond the guaranteed rate. However, his investment business was, in reality, a Ponzi scheme, where he used new investor money to pay returns to earlier investors. Over 12 years, Bain unlawfully obtained more than $871,000 from investors in BainTrade.
Further cultivating the illusion of a fruitful investment operation, Bain fabricated contracts for investors to sign and produced phony account statements that showed supposed earnings and profits. He also lied about investing his funds into the scheme. This ruse was dismantled following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenna Rudoff prosecuting the case. As a result, Bain now faces reparation payments along with his seven-year sentence in federal lockup.
