Illinois Couple Convicted Of Running A Ponzi Scheme Caught 12 Years Later
Twelve years after defrauding their friends, family members and acquaintances out of millions, the mini-Madoffs have finally been dragged to jail. During the 1990s Nelson Grant Hallahan and his wife Janet convinced nearly everyone they knew to invest in a tanning salon they owned in Illinois, promising ten percent returns on investments. Unbeknownst to the investors, they’d long sold the salon and were using newly collected money to occasionally pay out returns to the early investors. The rest of the money was used to bankroll a lavish lifestyle featuring boats, vacations and apparently, few second thoughts. Like the overwhelming majority who run Ponzi schemes, the soulless couple was eventually caught, but unlike the majority who run Ponzi schemes, they managed to escape between their conviction and sentencing.
The manhunt lasted for more than a decade, but after the Hallahans appeared on America’s Most Wanted on Sunday, a tipster called in and let authorities know the couple’s whereabouts. According to Fox News, the two scoundrels were found about fifty miles outside Phoenix. Bizarrely, they’d apparently separated at some point because each was occupying a different residence, assumedly paying both rents with money other people earned.
If history is any indication, most of the victims will not get all of their investments back. They’ll likely each receive a fraction, but after twelve years after wondering where the hell the Hallahans were, something tells me this will offer some kind of satisfaction. As for the rest of the public, it should serve as a warning. Manhunts aren’t always limited to offenders who commit bodily harm.
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Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.
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