Danbury Teen Nightclub Owner Ian Bick Faces Allegations by IRS, FBI of Running Ponzi Scheme

Danbury teenager Ian Bick, 19, owner of Tuxedo Junction on Ives Street, was charged with fraud, money laundering and false statement offenses Friday stemming from allegations that he ran a Ponzi scheme.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said Friday that a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven returned a 15-count indictment charging Bick with fraud, money laundering and false statement offenses stemming from his alleged operation of Ponzi scheme.

The indictment was returned Thursday and Bick was arrested at his home Friday morning. According to the indictment, Bick was “a principal and/or managing member of various Danbury-based entities including This Is Where It’s At Entertainment, LLC, Planet Youth Entertainment, W&B Wholesale, LLC, and W&B Investments, LLC.” According to reports, Bick solicited funds from his friends, former classmates, acquaintances, and their parents by promising high investment returns over short periods of time.

Bick also falsely stated to investors that he could generate high investment returns by using their money to organize and promote concerts at various venues in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Bick led investors to believe that he made significant profits promoting concerts in the past. According to a release by the IRS Criminal Investigation DEpartment, it is alleged that Bick entered into various investment contracts, including “Loan Agreements” and “Music Venture Participation Agreements,” with his victims.

Bick defrauded over 15 investors out of nearly $500,000.

The indictment also alleges that, “during a June 2014 interview with U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents, Bick falsely stated, with respect to the use of the money that a certain victim-investor invested with Planet Youth Entertainment LLC, that “70 to 80 percent of the money had been on ‘artist deposits,’” when only a minimal portion, at most, of the invested funds had been used in any way connected with any artist deposits.”

He was arraigned Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis in New Haven. He entered a plea of not guilty and was released on a $250,000 bond. He was ordered not to have any contact with victims and witnesses, and not to use any of his social media accounts.

Bick has been charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, which carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, three counts of money laundering, which carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count, and one count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

U.S. Attorney Daly said that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, are all investigation the charges, along with the assistance of the Danbury Police Department and the Connecticut Department of Banking.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry and has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in Bridgeport.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation are encouraged to contact the FBI at (203) 777-6311.

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