Smyrna Man Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme

The Smyrna man who defrauded investors out of $2.4 million in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced to two years in federal prison Thursday.

According to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, Thomas Preston Berry, 43, pleaded guilty to his charges in May 2012. He solicited investors to fund MoGo Consulting LLC, a fictitious software consulting business. Berry told investors that his business provided clients with contractors who performed computer-related services, but that the father and son who owned the MoGo were experiencing problems generating cash flow.

The U.S. Attorney said O’Berry convinced investors to pay $10,000 for each consultant contract and promised to pay them $1,000 each month for the duration of the contract. At the end of the contract he said investors would also receive the $10,000 they originally paid.

But O’Berry never obtained clients or contracts for MoGo and instead falsified 245 consultant contracts while also convincing one victim to loan an additional $30,000. He ultimately defrauded investors out of $2,480,000 over two years.

United States District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced O'Berry to two years in federal prison and three years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $921,761 in restitution.