Trader pleads guilty to scam promising 200 percent returns

CHICAGO (AP) - A 63-year-old commodities trader from southern California has pleaded guilty to federal charges he scammed clients by promising a 200 percent return on their investments.

A Wednesday statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago says David Bryant of Palos Verdes Estates, California had been investing money that actually ended up with large losses, not the massive returns he'd boasted about. Some accounts were located in Chicago.

Bryant pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of wire fraud under a plea deal. A conviction on that one count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though plea deals typically result in reduced sentences. His sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 18.

The plea agreement says Bryant hid the scheme by, among other things, making Ponzi-type payments to some investors.