Delaware businessman faces sentencing in $3.3M Ponzi scheme
AP
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(Photo: finance.sina.com.cn)

A former Delaware real estate broker is facing sentencing after pleading guilty to running a Ponzi scheme.

The public defender for 75-year-old Carl Chen is seeking a sentence of no more than 30 months at Monday’s hearing. Prosecutors say Chen should be imprisoned for 51 months.

Chen pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud. Prosecutors say he ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of more than $3.3 million.

The former DuPont chemical engineer owned Chenmax Properties and was part-owner of Re/Max Sunvest Realty Co.

Authorities say Chen solicited $6.6 million from investors between 1991 and 2017 for real estate deals, promising them annual interest returns of 10% to 15%.

But between 2013 and 2017, Chen used money from new investors to pay off obligations to prior investors.