Prosecutors: Naperville man lost $125,000 in Ponzi scheme

A Naperville man was bilked out of $125,000 as part of a 60-year-old Florida man's Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Richard L. Thompson is charged with fraud in connection with the real estate scheme that took in roughly $2.1 million from 2009 to 2011, according to a federal indictment.

Thompson is accused of spending more than $1.6 million of the funds on credit card bills, college tuition, insurance and a Lexus, court papers indicate.

Prosecutors said Thompson told investors that he owned hundreds of acres in Tennessee and was developing the land into vacation resorts. However, he defaulted on the mortgages on the land, but never told investors. Some of the money Thompson took from newer investors was used to pay off earlier investors, prosecutors said.

He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.