Cincinnati money manager admits running Ponzi scheme

Another Cincinnati money manager has admitted running a Ponzi scheme after being caught by the federal government.

John R. Bullar pleaded guilty Tuesday to a count each of wire fraud and money laundering leveled by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for bilking more than $8.7 million from 46 investors from 2003 to 2013.

Bullar was sole principal of Executive Management Advisors LLC, which was also listed as a defendant in the federal suit. Neither Bullar nor his lawyer, Candace Crouse, could be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. His next court date is Dec. 9, when a pre-sentencing report is set to be presented to U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett.

The complaint alleges that Bullar and his company told investors - most of whom were friends - that their money would be pooled in a managed account to trade commodity futures and options contracts. Instead, only a fraction of the invested money was actually traded, according to the suit.

Bullar "furthered his scheme by creating an appearance of legitimacy," the suit states. For example, he created an investment blog for his clients to follow and updated it regularly. He also outfitted his home office with a television and three computer monitors to "give the impression that he was constantly monitoring the market."

Bullar provided investors with quarterly statements that seemed to show their account balances, usually showing substantial gains in short periods of time. He had convinced his clients that he had a computerized algorithm system that monitored the market for patterns and alerted him to potential losses, authorities said. He even claimed that outsiders had offered to buy the system for millions, but that he refused to sell it.

Bullar was accused of misappropriating and embezzling about $6 million from more than 40 victims. He allegedly used the money to pay for personal expenses, make cash withdrawals, issue checks to himself and transfer money to his personal accounts or accounts he controlled.

Some of the money went to buy an expansive house with five bedrooms and five bathrooms, professional landscaping and an adjacent lot. Bullar also used investors' money to remodel a cabin on the lot, install a swimming pool and an outdoor kitchen and pay for landscaping there, authorities allege.

"The majority of Bullar's investors were friends, family members and fellow church members at a local church, where Bullar was involved in youth ministry," said a Tuesday news release from the Ohio Department of Commerce. He further perpetuated his image as a successful advisor by entertaining "groups of investors at his home, treating investors to lavish dinners and paying for some investors to vacation with him."

The guilty plea comes on the heels of disgraced money manager Glen Galemmo's 15-year sentencing in what feds describe as the largest Ponzi scheme in Hamilton County history. Galemmo stole more than $34.5 million from 140 investors.

In a separate action Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil suit against Bullar seeking restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and permanent injunctions from further violations of federal commodities laws. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati accuses Bullar of acting as both a commodity trading advisor and a commodity pool operation with registrations.