Buford man charged in $650M cattle, marijuana Ponzi scheme

BUFORD, Ga. — A federal grand jury in Colorado has charged a Buford man and an Illinois woman with masterminding a Ponzi scheme worth $650 million.

According to court documents, Ron Throgmartin, 57, and Reva Joyce Stachniw, 69, of Galesburg, Illinois, ran a Ponzi scheme between late 2017 and early 2019 that raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors across the country.

The pair had a third co-conspirator who was charged for his role in the scheme last year.

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The indictment states that Throgmartin, Stachniw and co-conspirators convinced investors to give them approximately $650,000,000.

Most of the time, the pair told their victims that their investments were backed up by short-term investments in cattle. They also falsely convinced victims to invest in their Colorado-based marijuana business, Universal Herbs LLC. The victims were told their investments were being used for business expenses related to cattle or marijuana.

Victims were promised returns of 10% to 20% in just a matter of weeks, but Throgmartin and Stachniw were primarily using their investments to repay other investors or to make themselves richer.

The pair allegedly received millions of dollars from the scheme, despite putting little to no money into it.

Both are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to engage in money transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

If convicted, they could each face up to 60 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Inspector General and the FBI are continuing their investigation into Throgmartin and Stachniw’s alleged scheme.

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