CLEVELAND, OH – Paul Kimmins Lebo, a 41-year-old Lakewood resident, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for wire fraud related to a Ponzi scheme. U.S. District Judge Charles E. Fleming also ordered Lebo to pay $635,000 in restitution and serve 3 years of supervised release.
Court records reveal that from August 2017 to October 2021, Lebo lured nearly 100 people to invest in a non-existent hedge fund. He falsely promised future equity ownership and assured them their investments were safe and fully refundable. Lebo convinced investors to provide short-term loans through fabricated explanations and promises of repayment. Rather than invest the funds as promised, Lebo used the money for personal expenditures, failed stock trades, and fruitless real estate ventures. He also repaid earlier investors with the funds collected.
To maintain the illusion of a successful operation, Lebo provided fraudulent updates about investment statuses and at times, repaid investors with money from new investors or his parents.
Lebo extended his fraudulent activities online, offering items for sale he never intended to deliver. The payments from these fake sales were used to pay off hedge fund investors or invested in unsuccessful stock trades.