Man changes plea to guilty in Ponzi scheme

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A man changed his plea to guilty in federal court to all 30 counts in an alleged $14 million Ponzi scheme that solicited Mahoning Valley investors.

David L. Olson, 61, of Lakeland, Fla., entered his plea Thursday before U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson. His co-defendant, Edward A. Allen, 35, also of Lakeland, filed a notice of intent to enter a guilty plea, according to court records.

Olson and Allen face charges of conspiracy, securities, mail and wire fraud, and money laundering. The purported offenses occurred between 2006 and 2009.

A federal indictment said Allen and Olson were partners in A&O Companies, which solicited investors in the Youngstown area and from Florida, Texas and Arizona. Investors were told A&O’s purpose was to buy residential real estate and sell it at a profit, according to a news release.

But instead, the investments were used to pay company employees’ salaries, personal expenses and purported interest payments to various investors and mortgage payments on real estate purchased on behalf of A&O by investors, according to court records.

Olson will be sentenced in June.