Man who ran 'Robin Hood'-named companies charged in Ponzi scheme

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former broker accused of running a Ponzi scheme using companies with variations on the name "Robin Hood" is facing federal charges.

Charles Caleb Fackrell was charged Friday. Court records show that he has already reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

According to a bill of information, Fackrell duped 20 people into investing $1.4 million. It resulted in the loss of nearly $800,000, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors accused Fackrell of diverting investor money to support his personal lifestyle, including making hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cash withdrawals and making purchases related to iTunes, auto work, medical expenses and numerous retail items.

According to the North Carolina secretary of state's website, Fackrell has been under investigation since at least 2014.

Prosecutors allege Fackrell steered investors away from "legitimate investments" and toward entities that he controlled under the name "Robin Hood. "Investigators claim he sometimes "guaranteed" a certain return on investment.

"Someone was making a guarantee of a return, that should be a red flag to someone," said Gary Mauney, an attorney who is familiar with Ponzi schemes.

Prosecutors accused Fackrell of diverting investor money from those entities to support his personal lifestyle, including making hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cash withdrawals and making purchases related to iTunes, auto work, medical expenses and numerous retail items.

"Often times the people who are perpetuating [the schemes] are just like Mr. Fackrell, individuals who are licensed with an actual brokerage firm," said Chad Kohler, an attorney for Meyer Wilson Co. who looked into the matter.

Fackrell is scheduled to make his first appearance in court in early April.

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