MIAMI (Reuters) – A onetime concert organizer who promoted Elton John and Tina Turner shows was extradited from Brazil to south Florida over the weekend to face charges of allegedly running a $300 million Ponzi scheme, an FBI spokesman in Miami said.
John Utsick, a Miami Beach resident and former airline pilot, was due to appear in a Miami federal court yesterday afternoon, according to court records. He is charged with nine counts of wire fraud and could face 20 years in prison if convicted.
Utsick bilked 3,300 investors for $300 million between 1998 and 2005 promising annual returns between 15 and 25 percent, according to prosecutors. He hosted investor meetings across the country and used the proceeds to buy two $1 million condominiums, artwork, a yacht, and make alimony payments, prosecutors say. In one instance he raised $16 million to promote a Barbra Streisand concert that never happened.
