Richard G. Maike, a 55-year-old Owensboro man, was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison for running a pyramid scheme in 2013 and 2014. He was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
Co-defendant Doyce G. Barnes, a 73-year-old man from Goldsboro, North Carolina, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for his role in the pyramid scheme.
The defendants were convicted after a 3-month federal jury trial that concluded with a conviction in September after 4 hours of deliberation.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Maike and Barnes sold positions in Infinity 2 Global, or I2G — purportedly a multi-level marketing company — which the United States proved at trial was operating as a pyramid scheme.
Maike and Barnes were also convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with the sale of $5,000 Emperor positions in the company as a form of passive income.
Maike was also convicted of money laundering and tax evasion in connection with his use of approximately $3.2 million in I2G funds, some of which were wired to and from an Infinity 2 Global bank account in Hong Kong and used by Maike to purchase 1800 acres of ranch land in Kansas for his personal use.
The evidence at trial showed that in approximately 15 months, I2G sold nearly 5,000 of the $5,000 Emperor positions generating, along with other lower-priced positions, over $30 million in revenue, much of which went out in the form of commissions to the promoters at the top of the pyramid structure. Commissions were generated based on recruitment of new members into the company. Over 90% of the people who bought a membership in I2G lost money.
Maike and Barnes were each also ordered to serve a 3-year term of supervised release after being released from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
Both Maike and Barnes will be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of their crime. A restitution hearing will be held at 10 a.m. February 2 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in Owensboro. Victims wishing to submit a restitution claim who have not done so already should email the U.S. Attorney’s Office at [email protected].
One co-defendant, Faraday Hosseinipour, also convicted at trial, is scheduled for sentencing before a United States District Judge of the Western District of Kentucky in Owensboro on January 5. Another co-defendant, Richard Anzalone, previously entered a plea of guilty to the conspiracy to commit securities fraud and testified at trial. Anzalone’s charges were dismissed after he died in October of 2022. Two other co-defendants, Dennis Dvorin and Jason Syn, were severed for trial to be held at a later date. No trial date has been set for Dvorin and Syn.
The FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Madison Sewell and Marisa Ford are prosecuting the case with the assistance of paralegal Cristy Crocket. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sullivan is handling the asset forfeiture components of the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Bravo is handling the restitution components of the case.
