UPDATE: Jury Issues Verdict Against Danbury Club Owner, 20

A federal jury Wednesday found Ian Parker Biick, 20, of Danbury, guilty of fraud and money laundering offenses stemming from his operation of Ponzi scheme.

Through this scheme, Bick defrauded more than 15 investors out of a total of nearly $500,000, federal authorities said. He will be sentenced on March 2, 2016. Bick was released on a $250,000 bond.

“Mr. Bick repeatedly lied to victim investors, took their money and used it to take trips with friends, on shopping sprees, to purchase jet skis, and also to pay off previous investors who were promised unrealistic returns,” U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said in a prepared statement.

“I thank the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Department of Banking and Danbury Police Department for their diligent investigation and prosecution of this matter,” Daly added in her statement.

According to the evidence at trial, 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.

Using these entities, Bick solicited investment funds from his friends, former classmates, acquaintances, and their parents by promising high investment returns over relatively short periods of time, federal authorities said in their statement.

Bick falsely represented to victim-investors that he could generate the high investment returns by using their funds to purchase electronics and electronic devices, such as iPhones, tablets and head phones, and by reselling the items for a substantial profit via the Internet, federal authorities said.

However, the electronic resale business never actually began in earnest and did not return any meaningful profit.

Bick also falsely represented to certain victim-investors that he could generate high investment returns by using their funds to organize and promote concerts at various venues in Connecticut and Rhode Island, according to the statement. Bick falsely represented that he had made significant profits organizing and promoting concerts in the past.

Bick, according to federal officials, failed to invest the funds he received as he had represented and instead used invested funds for unrelated and unsuccessful businesses, and to pay personal expenses, including hotel stays and to purchase jet skis.

Bick also used invested funds to issue payments, purportedly as “interest payments” and as “return of principal,” to certain victim-investors.

The jury found Bick guilty on six counts of wire fraud, which carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, and one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

The jury found Bick not guilty on two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement, and could not reach a verdict on three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. The government dismissed one count of money laundering prior to the trial.

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