Repeat Fraudster Pays the Price 

The 75-year-old long-time fugitive and repeat fraudster known as “Butch” Ballow receives a second federal sentence following his admission of defrauding investors in a Nevada company with shares traded on the over-the-counter securities market. Harris Dempsey aka “Butch” Ballow, pleads guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

A U.S. District Judge sentences Ballow to 40 years in prison – the statutory maximum. Furthermore, Ballow must pay $37,544,944 in restitution. At the hearing, the court hears from one victim whom Ballow defrauds out of $5 million. The victim explains how Ballow uses religious pretenses to convince victims to invest money and that he presents himself in Mexico as a type of missionary. Moreover, the victim mentions that he knows victims who lose their entire life savings to Ballow.

Outrageous and Repeat Fraud 

The sentencing Judge mentions that in all his decades on the bench, he is unable to think of a more outrageous fraudulent crime spree, calling it “despicable” and noting there are more than 500 victims. Ballow is known as a “financial predator” who continues to commit fraud as long as he is out of jail.  Since the early 1980s, Ballow utilizes fake names to commit his fraudulent schemes.