Auction of Ponzi Schemer's Farm Items Brings $200,000 for Victims

Farm items belonging to disgraced former Anderson County Council member Ronnie Wilson brought in $200,000 at auction Saturday, money that will go towards repaying hundreds of investors Wilson bilked in a massive Ponzi scheme.

It was the second auction of Wilson's items this year.

The latest auction, held at Wilson's Live Oak Farms in Woodruff, included hundreds of items. His farm, like his private residence, will be sold separately, Fox Carolina said in a report.

Wilson ran an Easley-based silver investment business and pleaded guilty in November 2012 to a Ponzi scheme that lost $57.4 million worth of his investors’ money. 

He was convicted along with co-conspirator Wallace Lindsey Howell of Mauldin.

Wilson's Atlantic Bullion and Coin defrauded around 900 investors in 25 states who believed they were investing in silver and making profits, though the profits were being paid by subsequent investors' money.

Wilson is currently serving 17 years in a federal penitentiary in Florida. An attorney in charge of liquidating Wilson's assets said efforts continue to find other assets that could be sold off, Fox's report said.

Original report here.