Ponzi Scheme nets Marietta man nearly 8 years in prison after defrauding $50 million from clients

A Marietta man and former executive at Oppenheimer & Co., John J. Woods, has been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison for running a $110 million Ponzi scheme. Woods, a former longtime executive at the brokerage and investment bank, pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud in March 2023.

He had been accused of defrauding over 400 people, including retirees, seniors, and veterans, through a 13-year investment scheme, which collectively lost almost $50 million.

He had already been sued, alongside two companies he controlled, by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty acknowledged Woods’ decades of commitment to his family, charitable work and lack of criminal history. Her sentence was below the 10 years prosecutors asked for.

The judge also recognized that hundreds of people, including many retirees, seniors and veterans, lost all their savings due to Woods’ 13-year investment venture. “The misrepresentations continued year after year after year,” Geraghty said. “That sort of long-term, calculated, premeditated conduct is of significant concern.

The victim impact statements in this case were devastating.”

Woods, 59, who operated through companies Horizon Private Equity III LLC and Livingston Group Asset Management Company (Southport Capital), guaranteed high returns but failed to make the promised investments, using money from new investors to pay earlier participants.

The scheme operated from 2008 until it was shut down by the federal government in 2021. Woods will have to pay up to $49.6 million in restitution and spend three years under supervision upon release.

The SEC’s securities fraud case against John J. Woods, Horizon, and Southport Capital is still ongoing.

Woods has been prohibited from working with investments. Additionally, there is litigation pending against Oppenheimer, the brokerage and investment bank where Woods was a former executive.

Oppenheimer is accused of concealing the truth about Woods’ investment program.

Court records indicate that Oppenheimer has settled some civil claims filed by Horizon investors.

The SEC’s securities fraud case against Woods, Horizon and Southport Capital is ongoing.

Woods has been barred from working with investments. Litigation is also pending against Oppenheimer, which is accused of hiding the truth about Woods’ investment program.