Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Randy Miller and Chad Miller have pled guilty to securities fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges are related to a scheme defrauding municipal bond investors. The guilty pleas were entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky, with sentencing to be determined by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, “Randy and Chad Miller’s fraudulent actions resulted in nearly total losses for investors.” He emphasized the commitment of his office to protect public finance integrity and hold accountable those exploiting investor trust, crediting the FBI’s investigation for uncovering the fraud.
The allegations indicate that Randy and Chad Miller misled investors in bonds funding Legacy Park, a sports complex in Mesa, Arizona. During bond offerings in August 2020 and June 2021, they falsely claimed high interest from sports organizations intending to use Legacy Park. They forged documents from potential customers to suggest commitments far exceeding reality.
The fraudulent documents were used to assure prospective investors of full occupancy at Legacy Park’s opening and projected revenue sufficient to cover bond payments. After selling these bonds, both Millers personally profited from the proceeds.
Legacy Park opened in 2022 but soon defaulted on its bonds by October 2022 and filed for bankruptcy in May 2023. It was later sold for less than $26 million, with under $2.5 million going towards repaying approximately $284 million owed to bondholders.
Randy Miller, aged 70, and Chad Miller, aged 41, both from Phoenix, Arizona, pled guilty to one count each of securities offering fraud (maximum five-year sentence) and aggravated identity theft (mandatory two-year consecutive sentence). Money judgments against them amounting to over $7 million for Randy Miller and nearly $5 million for Chad Miller were entered as part of their pleas.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew R. Shahabian and Courtney L. Heavey under the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. The FBI’s efforts were praised by Mr. Clayton along with acknowledgment of a parallel civil action filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
