MIAMI, Fla. (Next Stamina) – A convicted felon pleaded guilty to orchestrating a years-long real estate investment fraud scheme that raised more than $50 million from investors through false promises regarding property assets, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida.

Jean Joseph, 55, also known as “Jon,” of Boca Raton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. His co-defendant, Janalie Camille Bingham, 44, also of Boca Raton, previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

“These defendants sold the illusion of a $450 million real estate portfolio that simply did not exist,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. The official statement noted that instead of investing the $50 million as promised, the defendants diverted millions into speculative trading and used new investor funds to make Ponzi-style payments.

According to court records, Joseph and Bingham formed Wells Real Estate Investment, LLC in or around 2017 and operated the company together. Beginning in approximately 2019, the defendants concealed Joseph’s involvement in the business after he became a convicted felon. Despite beginning a prison sentence in June 2020 for an unrelated wire fraud case, Joseph continued to direct aspects of the scheme from prison, authorities detailed.

From approximately 2019 through 2024, Joseph and Bingham solicited investors to purchase promissory notes, according to the Department of Justice. They represented that funds would be used to acquire and improve real estate and that the notes were backed by valuable holdings. In reality, Joseph diverted approximately $28 million into speculative equities trading, the agency added.

Joseph and Bingham falsely claimed that the investment notes were secured by a real estate portfolio worth as much as $450 million, according to the investigation. Neither Wells Real Estate nor the defendants owned sufficient assets to secure the investments.

The company further misled investors by claiming it did not pay commissions on note sales, according to court records. In fact, the company paid up to 15% in commissions, distributing approximately $8 million in investor funds to sales personnel, officials stated.

To sustain the scheme, the defendants used funds from newer investors to make more than $8 million in payments to earlier investors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They also used more than $2 million in investor funds for personal expenses, including a down payment on a $1.95 million home used as their primary residence.

Bingham’s sentencing is scheduled for May 8, and Joseph’s sentencing is set for June 4 before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez.