St. Louis man raises $350K in decade-long Ponzi scheme: DOJ

ST. LOUIS – A man appeared in court on Monday and pleaded guilty to wire fraud for operating a decade-long Ponzi scheme.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri, Robert F. Rothluebbers, 68, admitted to raising $350,000 while running the scheme between October 2014 and January 2024.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Rothluebbers obtained investments from shareholders by claiming he would use their money to purchase R-22 refrigerant or AC coolant in bulk with a discount and re-sell the refrigerant to contractors at a 50 percent profit.

Rothluebbers claimed the gradual phaseout of the refrigerant would enable him to increase his investor’s profits.

Between October 2014 and May 2017, Rothluebbers entered into written agreements, saying he agreed to purchasing specific amounts of the coolant at certain prices with a minimum resale price.

Despite the written agreements, Rothluebbers admitted in court to using his investor’s money to pay earlier investors, pay his relatives, and used the money for personal purchases.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Rothluebbers used “bogus” excuses for failing to pay his investors, such as claiming his money had been frozen by his financial institution and the Internal Revenue Service.

Rothluebbers had raised the $350,000 from four investors and admitted to paying Ponzi scheme payments of $171,450 after investors discovered the scheme.

Rothluebbers is scheduled to be sentenced on December 12. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

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