Former attorney sentenced for fraud involving Ponzi scheme

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a James A. MacCallum, 46, of Bemus Point, NY, who was convicted of mail fraud, was sentenced to serve 84 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The defendant was also ordered to pay $2,036,397 in restitution. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated between January 2008 and December 2010, the defendant, a practicing attorney at the time, devised a scheme to defraud investors out of over $2,000,000. As part of the scheme, MacCallum encouraged some victims to liquidate other investments in order to benefit from his false and fraudulent higher rates of return. The defendant claimed that his investments were secured by real estate and life insurance policies. However, the Government’s evidence demonstrated that the defendant was using victim investments to pay back earlier investors and to pay personal and other expenses such as personal travel and office expenses. MacCallum received over $2,000,000 from victim investors. The sentencing is the result of investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.