“Apostle” Convicted In $30 Million Ponzi Scheme

A St. Paul area pastor who called himself an apostle and his wife a prophetess was convicted on Friday of defrauding 519 people from Minnesota and Louisiana of $30 million in a Ponzi scheme which operated from April 2004 through December 2005. A federal jury in Minneapolis convicted Neulan Midkiff on eight counts of mail fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy and four counts of failure to file tax returns. Midkiff used his position as a minister to solicit investors with the typical promise of high rates of return on investments that were never made, using the funds to pay off earlier investors. He was initially part of a $390 million Ponzi scheme operated by Travis Correll of Atlanta, but Midkiff later started a separate operation of his own. Correll, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, testified against Midkiff at the trial. Midkiff was immediately taken into custody following the verdict. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 1 (Star Tribune, DOJ).