Yesterday, in a federal courtroom in New York, two ex-sports executives learned the hard price of defrauding municipal bond investors. Randy Miller, 70, and his son, Chad Miller, 41, formerly at the helm of Mesa's Legacy Park sports complex, were handed prison sentences of six and five years respectively. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, declared the sentence a win for the integrity of the municipal bond market, crucial for financing community projects across America.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the duo orchestrated a scam that siphoned nearly $300 million from investors. Having pled guilty to securities fraud and aggravated identity theft, the Millers faced Judge Lewis A. Kaplan who also imposed three years of supervised release following their prison term. Running parallel to this criminal case, the SEC also settled a civil action, underscoring the fraudulent scheme's seriousness.
Jay Clayton praised the FBI's "outstanding work" in bringing the Millers to justice and acknowledged the SEC's efforts in resolving the civil components of the case. The aftermath of such schemes ripples, threatening the trust and hence the foundation upon which municipal financing rests. The sentencing was meant to serve as a deterrent aimed at preserving trust in the over $4 trillion municipal bond market.
Along with prison time, the court ordered Randy Miller to pay a money judgment amounting to $7,289,134.89, and Chad Miller, his accomplice in crime, must cough up a slightly less $4,798,980.19. Following their release from prison, both men will find themselves under the watchful eye of the legal system, with three years of supervised release.
The case was spearheaded by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Courtney L. Heavey and Matthew R. Shahabian led the prosecution, ensuring that the Millers' misdeeds did not go unpunished.
