URBANA, Ill. – A California man and his company are accused of defrauding Central Illinois residents out of more than $20 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Brett Bartlett, 37, and his companies Dynasty Toys and 7M E-group Corporation were charged by a grand jury with wire fraud, mail fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering.
Federal prosecutors say Bartlett and his company devised a scheme to make false claims about items purchased at liquidation sales and resold online including through Amazon, promising large returns. He allegedly also dramatically overstated the success of the companies and their returns.
Bartlett then allegedly mailed checks to investors that all bounced.
He’s scheduled to appear in federal court in Urbana June 1.
Officials say a parallel investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission came to much the same conclusion, and is going through the federal court system in California.
