Promoters Charged in Local Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme

Promoters of a green project choose a Tennessee Valley location as a front to skimp millions of dollars from investors.  The federal government has charged 4 people and 2 companies, including Mantria Corporation, in the scandal.  It's a developing story we've been covering for months.  NOW, The Securities and Exchange Commission says the scandal stole more than 30 million dollars from hundreds of investors.  They say promoters promised an environmentally friendly, one of a kind community, in Sequatchie County.  Instead, residents of this small, rural community are left with the remnants of a large scale fraud.

Instead of building homes and golf courses, we find work out of a large industrial building, converting waste to a product called biochar.  Mantria Corporation pledged they'd bring a green community, with a negative carbon footprint.  Instead, the federal government says they were looking only to make some green. 

From the beginning, Harold Bibb, who lives nearby on Fredonia Mountain says he knew this development would be a disaster, since the plans weren't consistent.  Bibb contacted the state and rallied neighbors to fight it.  "They all expressed concerns that this was more of a disturbance to our environment than it was a positive."

Now, the Securities and Exchange Commission says it wasn't just less green than promised, but schemed more than 30 million out of 300 investors.  In a release yesterday, SEC said, "The "green" representations were laced with bogus claims.  In reality, the only green these promoters seemed interested in was investors' money."

Those promotors include Troy Wragg who's one of four now charged by the SEC in this ponzi scheme.

Another is Wayde McKelvy, who's the founder of a partner company, Speed of Wealth, also charged in this case.

Tuesday, we reached a Mantria representative by phone who told us they're denying all allegations and are working to fight the charges.

Meanwhile, Bibb wonders if the project is hurting the environment he lives in.  He says this company picked a place here in Sequatchie County, where investors around the US wouldn't travel to see what was really happening with their money.  He says he's just glad their community caught the flagrant fraud.  "Obviously they were trying to put up one front to the people who weren't here because they couldn't put up that front to the people who were here."

Mantria tells us they will continue to market their product during the investigation.  The SEC says despite what was promised, the company has never made a profit from the biochar product.