Lee’s Summit man now faces criminal charges in alleged Ponzi scheme

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Lee’s Summit man now faces criminal charges in an alleged Ponzi scheme in which he defrauded over $2 million from investors.

A federal criminal complaint has been filed against Trevor Uhls, 29. He faces charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

Uhls allegedly defrauded the millions from 24 investors through “false and misleading representations,” per the U.S. Department of Justice.

The criminal complaint states Uhls texted an Independence investor on June 12 about earning 8.5% interest on a storage unit investment. After being wired $15,000, Uhls used that money and another $5,000 to purchase a Rolex FMT-Master II watch and a Rolex Jubilee bracelet at Meierotto Jewelers, per the complaint. The total was $20,155.35.

The storage unit promised by Uhls was part of his scheme, as there was no evidence that money was invested in storage units.

Last week, a U.S. District judge issued a temporary restraining order against Uhls, ordering him to stop wire fraud; soliciting, receiving or accepting money from investors; and contacting those he had previously asked for funds.

Court documents revealed he would use promissory note contracts to promise investors a return over 30, 60 or 90 days with 10% to 15% gains. However, those investors only received a fraction of their initial investment, if any.

The Securities and Exchange Commission opened its investigation into Uhls in March. In June, the IRS became involved.

Even after a search warrant was served at his residence, Uhls allegedly defrauded three more victims.

A motion filed with the criminal complaint seeks that Uhls be detained without bond for allegedly continuing to contact victims after the temporary restraining order and confronting them “about their cooperation with law enforcement,” per the U.S. DOJ.

Uhls could face up to 20 years in federal prison without parole for the wire fraud charge and up to 10 years without parole for the money laundering charge.

He's due in court Aug. 4 for a preliminary and detention hearing.

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