Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced today that a Douglas County District Court judge has sentenced William L. Walters (DOB: 1/30/1965), whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation extradited from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to face a series of securities fraud charges stemming from a 2007 indictment, to 40 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. The judge also ordered Walters to pay $9.5 million in restitution.“This sentence underlines our commitment to vigorously pursue and prosecute cases of financial fraud that victimize Coloradans,” Suthers said. “Our thanks to the FBI for helping us to ensure that justice delayed did not result in justice denied for Mr. Walters’ victims.”
According to Walters’ indictment, handed down in May 2007 — less than a year after Walters fled the country — Walters ran an elaborate Ponzi scheme and collected more than $23 million from victims in Colorado, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming. Walters’ Colorado victims resided in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties. Walters solicited day-trading investments from his victims between January 2001 and July 2006 by promising high rates of return, between 10 percent and 40 percent.
The FBI tracked down Walters in Argentina after his passport was flagged by Interpol. An Argentinean court approved Walters’ extradition last year.
The Colorado Division of Securities assisted the Office of the Attorney General in investigating Walters and securing his extradition.
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