Middlebury 'Birth of Innocence' Conman Pleads Guilty

Middlebury resident and chiropractor Louis Soteriou, 55, pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Vermont Thursday on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, avoiding a trial in one of the largest fraud schemes in Vermont history, according to the Burlington Free Press.

Soteriou was indicted on 18 charges in March 2012 (16 of which were dropped in the guilty plea) for bilking investors out of more than $3.8 million under the pretext of making a documentary, entitled “Birth of Innocence.”

The fraud, which also included 54-year-old Vermont storyteller Malcolm Parker, raised over $28 million from 2000 to 2009, most of which was used to pay other investors in a Ponzi scheme structure. According to the Vermont U.S. state’s attorney, approximately $700,000 actually went toward legitimate film expenses.

Parker plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud a week before Soteriou reversed his not guilty plea.