Man pleads guilty in $65 million Ponzi scheme

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Robert Miracle, 49, of Bellevue pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an indictment that accused him and others of operating a US$65 million Ponzi scheme, US media reported.

He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion in U.S. District Court in Seattle. He faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced on Dec. 14.

He and two Malaysians, Mukhtar Kechik, and Fahimi Fisal, were named in February in a 23-county indictment that charged conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

Miracle operated a variety of companies purported to be involved in oil development in Indonesia and Malaysia, including Diski, Batu Mandi and Basilam TACs offshore North Sumatra, Rembang PSC in Central Java and Halmahera PSC in North Maluku. The three defendants told investors the companies were making money when they weren't, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say money from later investors was used to pay off earlier ones. From September 2004 to October 2007, Miracle took more than $65 million from investors and lenders. About $37 million was paid to lenders and investors, prosecutors said.

His codefendants, Mukhtar Kechik, and Fahimi Fisal, remain fugitives.(*)