MADISON – A 41-year-old Baldwin, Wisconsin man is charged in a 3-count indictment with wire fraud, mail fraud, and making a false statement on a loan application.
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin sitting in Madison returned the indictment on November 28 against Jamie Smith.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office, the indictment alleges that Smith, who operated American Platinum Gold & Silver, Inc. (APGS), and American Independent Gold & Silver, Inc. (AIGS) from various locations in Minnesota, and in Hudson and River Falls, Wisconsin, devised a scheme to defraud customers of APGS and AIGS beginning in May 2010 and continuing until February 2017. The indictment alleges that Smith misappropriated money and property from the clients of APGS and AIGS, lied to his clients, failed to honor coin transaction agreements with clients, and failed to inform clients that he used their money and property to pay for his personal expenditures.
The indictment alleges that the scheme caused losses to the clients of APGS and AIGS in excess of $1,122,000.
The indictment charges Smith with 11 counts each of mail fraud and wire fraud in relation to this alleged scheme. The indictment also charges Smith with making false statements in connection with a residential loan application in January 2016.
If convicted, Smith face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each of the 22 wire and mail fraud charges, and 30 years in federal prison on the charge of making false statements in connection with a loan.
The chares against Smith are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation, St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office, River Falls Police Department, Minnesota Department of Commerce, and Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.
