Michael Eugene Kelly

Who is Michael Eugene Kelly?

Michael Eugene Kelly was the owner of Yucatan Resorts, Resort Holdings International, Puerto Cancun and Avanti Motor Corporation. With 23 others, he is accused by the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office of operating a $428 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded over a thousand elderly and senior citizens of their retirement money.

Kelly was arrested in his hospital room at the Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota, on December 22, 2006 just before he was about to be discharged to return to one of his homes in Cancún, Mexico. In pretrial services, Kelly claimed that he earned $55,000 a year and had only $48,000 in assets. In spite of this claim, Kelly offered a private jet, four yachts and race track as collateral at his detention hearing. He was denied bail and remanded to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago. Kelly attempted to avoid indictment by arranging a plea agreement that included paying restitution to the victims. On 14 May 2008, Kelly plead not guilty to 14 counts of fraud and was remanded in custody. On 14 April 2009, a court permanently enjoined him from violating sections of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As of June 30, 2012, he continues to serve out a prison sentence as the court carries out a lengthy process of liquidating former national and international assets to eventually provide partial restitution to victims of the Ponzi scheme.