Naperville man gets 7 years in Turkish bond scheme
A Naperville businessman was sentenced to seven years in prison for bilking investors out of $3.3 million in a Ponzi-type scheme involving phony Turkish bonds.
John T. Burns III, 56, was convicted of defrauding clients of Oakbrook Terrace-based USA Retirement Management Services in November of last year. The company was shuttered by the federal government in 2010.
During the trial, prosecutors said Burns told clients the bonds promised high yields and that he personally invested in them during his lengthy investment career. However, Burns was a mortgage salesman with no professional investment experience and there was no such thing as the Turkish bond program that he was selling, according to court records.
In addition to his prison sentence, Burns was ordered to pay $3,383,113 in restitution.
Two other men, Robert Pribilski, 57, of Lisle, and Mahmut Erhan Durmaz, 45, formerly of Streamwood, were also involved in the scheme, which in total netted $28 million from 120 mostly retired victims, according to court records.
Pribilski pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Durmaz fled the country and is believed to be living in Turkey, according to prosecutors.