A Montgomery County woman who defrauded investors out of more than $20 million was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced.
A federal jury convicted Dawn J. Bennett, 56, of Chevy Chase, in October of 17 charges including conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and making false statements on a loan application as part of a Ponzi scheme involving 46 investors, many of whom were retirees.
“Dawn Bennett knowingly defrauded retirees of their life’s savings – most of which she used for her own personal benefit,” U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur said in a statement. “She’s been held accountable for her lies and theft and will now spend years in federal prison.”
An attorney representing Bennett did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bennett solicited investments for her online retail store DJBennett.com from December 2014 to April 2017, enticing investors through false and misleading statements, according to evidence presented at her trial, prosecutors said.
She convinced several people to withdraw large chunks of their retirement accounts to fund various companies under her corporation DJB Holdings.
In May 2015, DJB Holdings obtained a $750,000 line of credit in part due to Bennett telling the bank that she had a brokerage account with a net portfolio value of over $4 million, prosecutors said. In reality, the account contained $35.
Bennett used the funds she received to pay back early investors, while also spending the money on a lifestyle that included a luxury suite at a football stadium and cosmetic surgery.
Bennett also used the investments to arrange for priests in India to perform religious ceremonies to ward off federal investigators, prosecutors said.
The judge presiding over Bennett’s case also ordered her to pay restitution of $14,504,290 and forfeit $14,306,842.
Bennett’s co-defendant, 52-year-old Bradley Mascho of Frederick, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and to making a false statement. He faces up to? 10 years in federal prison and will be sentenced on Aug. 28.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
