A Summerfield resident, William Lamar Rhew, III, has been sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme and related tax fraud. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Clifton T. Barrett of the Middle District of North Carolina.
Rhew, age 39, received a sentence of 235 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release from United States District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder. Court records show that between November 2017 and December 2023, Rhew defrauded at least 117 investors out of more than $24 million through his company Chadley Capital, LLC.
According to the case documents, Rhew told investors that Chadley Capital would purchase accounts receivable at a discount and sell them for profit, promising high returns. He claimed the company had completed $300 million in transactions in 2023 and delivered consistent returns above 20% per year with significant growth over two years. These claims were false; instead, Rhew used investor funds for personal expenses such as purchasing luxury items including a boat, beach house, cars, and paying credit card bills. He also used new investments to pay earlier investors as part of the fraudulent scheme.
For tax years 2018 through 2022, Rhew failed to report nearly $9 million in income to the IRS and evaded more than $3 million in taxes. Court records state he maintained a shell business funded with victim money to support his lifestyle and misrepresented these payments as business expenses while concealing actual income from his accountant. He did not file required individual income tax returns for several years during this period.
“This defendant devastated the personal finances of individual victims and defrauded the public at large by failing to file and pay taxes to the IRS,” said United States Attorney Barrett. “We will prosecute such schemes to the full extent of the law. We appreciate the robust investigation conducted by our law enforcement partners in this matter.”
“The defendant victimized his investors and defrauded American taxpayers by concealing his income from the IRS and evading his tax liability,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins from IRS Criminal Investigation’s Charlotte Field Office. “IRS-CI’s collaborative investigative efforts alongside our law enforcement partners led to justice for the victims in this case.”
James C. Barnacle Jr., FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge, commented: “The time Rhew will spend behind bars will never make up for the millions of dollars he stole from more than a hundred people. He promised to make them rich, instead Rhew is the one who profited. He bought fancy cars, a beach house, and even a boat. Fraud of this magnitude can have a lasting impact not only financially, but emotionally for victims. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to hold fraudsters who rip off hard working Americans accountable.”
NCSBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Cardwell added: “Through the combined efforts of the SBI and our partner agencies, this individual was held accountable for exploiting his investors’ trust,” he said. “Together, we will continue to pursue those who commit fraud and help protect our citizens.”
The investigation was carried out by agents from Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Jeanne Dildine prosecuted the case.
