A Web of Deception
Miller’s spending spree included:
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$645,000 to pay off personal debts.
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$200,000 funneled to a spiritual adviser.
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$900,000 pocketed directly for himself.
As 5 Star crumbled, Miller fled to Florida with his family, leaving day-to-day operations to a management company until bankruptcy swallowed the firm in early 2016.
Restitution and Legal Challenges
Miller also contested the $2.3 million restitution order, arguing prosecutors needed to link losses to each specific investor. The panel firmly rejected that claim. “That is not the law,” the judges wrote, backing the trial court’s calculations.
Circuit Judges Nancy Maldonado, Frank Easterbrook, and David Hamilton sat on the panel. The government’s case was argued by Nathaniel Whalen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana, while Miller was represented by William Bruce Jr. of Katten & Temple LLP.
The Bottom Line
The Seventh Circuit’s decision cements Miller’s downfall, marking the end of his bid to overturn a punishment rooted in betrayal, deception, and the exploitation of a trusting community.
