Top Executive of Global Power Global Wealth Enterprises, LLC, Sentenced on Federal Charge Involving Investment Pyramid Scheme

St. Louis, Missouri: Andre Mitchell, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Power Global Wealth Enterprises was sentenced to 168 months in prison on mail fraud and money laundering charges involving a fraudulent investment scheme, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today. Additionally, Mitchell was ordered to pay $3,017,771 restitution.

“Mitchell and Henry Allen defrauded more than 400 victims around the county who trusted them. Many investors lost their savings. These victims thought they were investing with a legitimate financial service firm,” said Hanaway. “The substantial sentence in this case should serve as a meaningful deterrent to those who often prey on vulnerable and unsophisticated victims, robbing them of their life savings.”

“With any investment offering abnormally high returns, investors should request and carefully scrutinize documentation of past performance. Also, it is never a bad idea to get an independent second opinion,” said J.R. Ball, Assistant Postal Inspector in Charge for the St. Louis Field Office.

Between July 2004 and December 2005, Andre Mitchell, former President & Chief Executive Officer and Henry Allen operated a pyramid scheme through their company, Global Power Global Wealth Enterprises (GPGW). They solicited investors through private offerings that falsely represented how investors' funds were going to be used and the security of those funds. Investors who were paid, were routinely paid with funds from other investors, rather than from legitimate investments. This approach created a false appearance of a valid investment strategy, which had the effect of luring investors to make additional investments in the scheme. Many of the people who “invested” in GPGW were never paid any return on their investment and were never repaid their principal investment.

Mitchell and Allen's sales pitch was generally that GPGW and its related companies were investing in real estate and were using investor funds to purchase real estate in and around the area of St. Louis. In some cases, they falsely represented that GPGW was making large profits by buying, rehabilitating, and selling properties in the St. Louis area and elsewhere and represented to some investors that they would receive 600% returns on their investments within six months. Often, investors were falsely advised that their principal investment was secure.

In one instance, an investor from California came to St. Louis to tour a real estate project undertaken by GPGW. Allen arranged for the investor to see Allen's home, which was not one of their projects. Allen later admitted that this tour was a sham. This investor ended up losing $200,000.

After Mitchell's investment scheme broke down, he robbed several banks and was caught in Kentucky in August 2006.

“IRS-CI, together with the law enforcement community, are united to investigate and prosecute promoters of fraudulent investment schemes,” stated James D. Vickery, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “IRS is charged with following the flow of money derived from illegal activities.”

ANDRE MITCHELL, formerly of Belleville, Illinois, agreed to have the fraud charges pending against him in Missouri resolved in Kentucky, where he is being held on the bank robbery charges. Mitchell pled guilty to one felony count of mail fraud and one felony count of money laundering on February 14, in Kentucky, where he also appeared today for sentencing.

Mitchell also pled guilty in February to three counts of bank robbery in Kentucky. In July and August 2006, Mitchell robbed two banks in Louisville and one bank in Hopkinsville. In addition to the 168 months and restitution ordered above, Mitchell was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $15,436 for the bank robbery charges.

Co-defendant HENRY ALLEN, St. Louis, pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 60 months in prison last September.

Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by the Missouri Secretary of States’ Office, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney John Bodenhausen handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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