By VALERIE KROEGER
Office of Indiana Secretary of State

Secretary of State Connie Lawson has announced over $150,000 in restitution will be returned to 14 Hoosier investors who lost their life savings and retirement in a Ponzi scheme. The investors were victims of convicted felons Kevin James of Indianapolis and Rudolf “Rudi” Pameijer of Trafalgar. Both men were convicted of securities fraud for running Ponzi schemes. The investors are receiving payment from the Securities Restitution Fund to help recover a portion of their losses.

“In most Ponzi schemes, the perpetrator spends all of his victims’ money, leaving them with nothing to show for their investments,” said Lawson. “Through the Securities Restitution Fund, we help investors recoup some of their losses to begin rebuilding their nest egg.”

Kevin James was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay over $1.3 million in restitution for stealing $1.4 million from his investors. James sold annuities and offered to reinvest current annuities for his insurance clients through a fictitious fund called the Financial Security Program. Instead, James used his clients’ investment money for his own lavish lifestyle.

Rudolf Pameijer was sentenced to 18 years and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for his role in a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of over $1.5 million. Pameijer, who was a long-time insurance salesman, would portray himself as an expert financial advisor and then use his sham company, Plan America, LLC, to sell fraudulent investment contracts and securities in the form of promissory notes to the unsuspecting victims.

The Securities Restitution Fund was established in 2010. The law enables the Securities Division to leverage fines collected from violators of the Indiana Uniform Securities Act to assist victims of financial crimes. The Securities Restitution Fund does not use any taxpayer dollars.

In order to receive payment, victims must show proof that restitution was awarded by a state or federal court or administrative agency. The Securities Division can award payment of up to $15,000 or 25 percent of unrecovered awards, whichever is less. Victims may submit an application online for awards from the fund at https://myweb.in.gov/SOS/RestitutionFund/Application/Default.aspx.