NEWTON, N.C.,None — A Conover man who defrauded hundreds of people out of their hard-earned money pleaded guilty to dozens of charges and threw himself on the mercy of the court Tuesday.
A judge sentenced J.V. Huffman Jr., 46, to more than 30 years in jail after several of his victims described how his Ponzi scheme left them in financial ruin.
Vickie Drum fought back tears as she described losing tens of thousands of dollars to Huffman.
"I'm struggling right now to maintain my home. It's difficult to pay my monthly bills," she said.
Huffman pleaded guilty to 14 counts of securities fraud and 14 counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.
Prosecutors said he swindled hundreds of investors in the Biltmore Financial Group Inc. out of $25 million. Some lost their entire retirements.
Instead of investing their money, the district attorney's office said Huffman spent it on his lavish lifestyle, from buying expensive cars and trucks to investing in properties across the Carolinas, and even purchasing a luxury box at Bank of America Stadium.
Huffman told investors they would get a return of 10 to 15 percent, and, in many of the cases, he even promised them their money was federally insured, when in reality none of it was invested.
Huffman stood in front of dozens of his former investors in the courtroom to apologize for what he had done. He also asked for forgiveness.
Huffman referred to the scheme as "the beast" in his life. He said he prayed that it would end some day, but he was worried about ending it himself because it would cause so much pain.
WSOC
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
