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Wire fraud, money laundering charges filed against Las Vegas lawyer

FBI shooting, barricade in northwest Vegas
Posted at 12:00 PM, Mar 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-30 15:29:25-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — New charges have been filed against a Las Vegas lawyer who is accused of running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

According to grand jury documents released on Wednesday, Matthew Wade Beasley is facing five counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.

Court documents state between 2017 to March 2022, Beasley caused hundreds of investors to "invest" $460 million in purchase contracts.

"Beasley falsely and fraudulently represented that he could find plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits who wanted to borrow money against their pending settlements with insurance companies and were willing to pay higher interest rates to borrow the money for 90 days," the indictment said.

Those investments were available in $80,000 or $100,000 increments.

The indictment said Beasley used money from the scheme to buy luxury homes, cars, and recreational vehicles to continue his "opulent lifestyle".

Beasley is due back in court Friday.

At least one investor has filed a lawsuit against Beasley claiming he gave Beasley more than $16 million and wants to be reimbursed.

The FBI is looking for additional victims who could have been affected by this Ponzi scheme. You can find additional information and the link to the survey here.

This comes over a year after Beasley was charged after pointing a gun at himself and then at three FBI agents who were at his house to question him as part of an ongoing investigation.

Beasley was shot during the confrontation and barricaded himself inside his house. He was treated for those injuries.

RELATED LINK: New details on FBI-involved shooting in the northwest

Beasley was charged for assaulting a federal officer and pleaded not guilty.