Wife Of Towson Ponzi Schemer Admits She Tried To Hide Assets

BALTIMORE, MD — A Towson woman whose husband defrauded investors in a $394 million Ponzi scheme has also been implicated. She tried to hide assets from the feds after her husband was arrested, according to a guilty plea she entered the day before her husband is to be sentenced.

Amanda Mahlstedt Merrill, 30, of Towson, pleaded guilty Wednesday, Oct. 9, to the federal charge of conspiracy to remove property to prevent seizure, obstruct justice and disobey court orders, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Her husband — Kevin B. Merrill, 53, of Towson — admitted in May he committed conspiracy and wire fraud in a multi-million-dollar investment scheme. With the help of two partners in Texas, he took in more than $394 million and returned about $248 million to investors in what officials said was one of the largest Ponzi scheme cases charged in Maryland history.

He will be sentenced Thursday, Oct. 10, and faces a maximum of 40 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud as well as a possible $500,000 fine.

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After he was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses on Sept. 11, 2018, his wife admitted she worked to hide his assets despite a federal order to turn them over to a designated receiver.

According to her plea agreement, here is the sequence of events, which culminated in her being found with nearly $25,000 in cash in her bedroom when the feds came to her Towson home with a warrant.

Sept. 11, 2018: Kevin Merrill was indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering, in a $394 million Ponzi scheme. He was to forfeit $39 million, six real estate properties, 25 cars, a boat, an interest in an aircraft, an insurance policy, and jewelry, the Merrills’ residence in Towson and a home on Spyglass Lane in Naples, Florida.

Sept. 13, 2018: The Securities and Exchange Commission ordered his assets frozen.

Sept. 18, 2018: Kevin Merrill was arrested at his residence in Towson and agents seized jewelry, his watch collection, cars and more than $520,000 in cash, mostly from a safe, officials said. He was ordered to be detained pending trial because he was a flight risk and may obstruct justice, according to authorities. FBI special agents gave his wife a receipt of items they took and warned her against trying to hide additional assets, providing her and her attorney instructions for reporting them.

Oct. 3, 2018: Amanda Merrill redeemed the points on an American Express business credit card belonging to her husband, even though she was not an authorized user. She got 127 gift cards worth $26,075 for businesses like Target, Home Depot, Nordstrom, Sephora and Starbucks, according to prosecutors.

Oct. 13, 2018: Amanda Merrill was recorded on jail calls with her husband about a trip to Florida in which she received instructions for opening a safe at the "restaurant," which was code for the $10 million condo they had bought in Naples, Florida, earlier that year, officials said. She and another individual flew to Florida, where she removed cash and other items from the condo. She told her companion she was going to inform her attorney the safe was empty. Video from BWI shows Amanda Merrill with two large suitcases, a carry-on and large purse, according to prosecutors. Officials said they found charges on her husband's American Express card, for which she was not an authorized user, showing she paid $75 for each checked bag for being over the 50-pound limit. She also used it to purchase the tickets from Fort Myers to Baltimore.

Oct. 30, 2018: Amanda Merrill's attorney emailed a letter directed to "Government, SEC, and Receiver" stating that when she went to Florida, she found the "unlocked safe at the house was empty,” and said they took six boxes of children’s clothing and personal items.

November 2018: FBI agents served a warrant at her home in Towson in early November and found more than $15,300 in cash, according to authorities. Almost $8,900 was in a purse in her bedroom, officials said, while the remainder was in her closet in a drawer. Agents found the suitcases, which were empty, and six boxes of children's clothing.

The government will recommend Amanda Merrill serve a year of home detention with work release and restitution, according to her plea agreement. Her sentencing is set for 3 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2020.

"When the district court enters an order in a case, we expect the affected persons to abide by the order, not conspire to remove and hide assets," U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur said in a statement Oct. 9.

Said Hur: "We will prosecute those, like Amanda Merrill, who hide assets which are subject to seizure, who obstruct justice, and who attempt to keep ill-gotten gains for their own benefit rather than restoring them to the victims of fraud."