NEW MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. — An Ohio woman is charged with wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering in connection with a business that she operated out of Wetzel County.
Federal prosecutors said Donna Brown, 65, of Clarington, Ohio owns the Budget Finance Company in New Martinsville.
The charges were announced during a news conference in Wheeling Wednesday.
Between 2005 and 2015, she allegedly collected money from investors in exchange for large returns on the investment only to pay them off from money she got from other investors. She’s accused of promising annual returns of between 8 and 12 percent.
Brown plans to admit to the crimes, according to a plea agreement that was filed. The plea agreement said the loss in this case is more than $9.5 million and less than $25 million.
Each crime is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, three years of supervised release and restitution to the victims of the crimes.