Professing innocence even after his sentence was handed down, 1963 Wharton graduate John Voigt was sentenced yesterday to more than 15 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Garrett Brown. Voigt was convicted on counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, and sentenced to 188 months in prison, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ernst. "Under federal sentencing guidelines, there is no parole," Ernst said. The charges stemmed from Voigt's involvement in an international fraud scheme that deprived more than 50 victims around the world of more than $20 million. Voigt was found guilty in June 1994 of creating two bogus institutions, the "Euro-American Money Fund Trust" and "Meta Trading and Finance International," which he used to defraud investors. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Voigt promised investors that Euro-American could provide loans to businesses for tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in return for an advance fee ranging from $50,000 to $500,000. These fees were then distributed to the participants in the scheme. Voigt also solicited buyers for a bogus security called a "Master Collateral Commitment," which he offered to sell for between $3 million and $4.5 million. The victims of the scheme ranged from international businessmen to the Moscow City Council, which paid $4.37 million to purchase an MCC. Prosecutors in the case claimed that Voigt relied on his education at the Wharton School and his biography in "Who's Who in Industry and Finance" to lend credibility to his bogus institutions. Prosecutors relied on this deception and two previous convictions, one for impersonating a CIA officer and one for tax evasion, to obtain the maximum sentence for Voigt. "I think the severity of the sentence is appropriate for the severity of the crime," Ernst said. According to Larry Lustberg, one of Voigt's attorneys, the sentence did not come as a shock. "I think it's a very long sentence," he said. "But he was well-prepared for it." Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick declined to comment on the case. "We can't speak for our alumni," he said.
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