A 44-year-old Glen Mills man pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Aug. 5, to wire fraud and tax evasion after bilking would-be investors of more than $6 million, said a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The release said Michael Goldner worked as an accountant for Arcadia Capital Group, Inc., a real estate investment firm he started in 2003 with three other people. Arcadia ceased operations in the fourth quarter of 2009. Court records said that Goldner “held himself out to be a Certified Public Accountant even though he is not licensed as such in any state.”
According to the release, prior to 2007 and continuing into 2009, Goldner solicited individuals to invest in various real estate investments. Goldner promised a promissory note to at least one victim who, he said, would provide for regular payments and “occasional payments on the side.”
One victim invested $25,000 on July 25, 2008, via a wire from his self-directed IRA. That victim then received a promissory note. At the time of that investment, the Arcadia bank account was overdrawn, the release said.
Immediately following that investment, Goldner repaid three earlier investors and made one payment to LG Financial, which held a mortgage on a property Goldner part owned. Records from the Arcadia bank account show that from 2007 until Goldner closed the account in 2009, nearly $10 million was withdrawn from the account with less than $1 million going toward possible real estate deals. The remaining funds went to Goldner, his associates, and prior investors, the release said.
Goldner also owned an interest in Settlement Funds, LLC, and handled the day-to-day business of the company, which was incorporated in Delaware in 2007 to fund plaintiffs in personal injury cases. Records from the Settlement Funds LLC bank account, which Goldner used after closing the Arcadia account, show that Goldner used the majority of the funds in the account through April 2010 on himself, his associates, and prior investors.
In addition, Goldner had three tax clients from whom he stole funds that were supposed to be directed to the IRS to pay the clients’ taxes, the release said. Instead, Goldner used the funds for his personal and business expenses, the release said.
U.S. District Court Judge Gerald A. McHugh scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 16. Goldner faces a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison, possible restitution to the victims of more than $6 million, a $200 special assessment, and up to three years of supervised release.
