Ponzi Scheme Partner Receives 8 More Years In Dearborn Co.

By Mike Perleberg Jerry Smith's eight year sentence in Dearborn County will run concurrently with two prior prison sentences. Photo by Dearborn County Sheriff's Dept. (Dearborn County, Ind.) - An eight year sentence has been ordered in Dearborn County for an investment scammer, but it won’t put him behind bars for any additional time. Jerry Smith, 49, of Brookville, has already been sentenced in federal court and Franklin County court, serving a total of 20 years behind bars and 20 years on probation. Smith also faced 18 counts of Sale of Unregistered Securities, Unregistered Broker Dealer, Fraudulent Sale of Securities, and Theft in Dearborn County. He reached a negotiated plea agreement with Dearborn County prosecutors earlier this year, pleading guilty to three class C felony charges of Unregistered Broker Dealer. All other counts were dismissed as a part of the deal. Smith was in Dearborn Superior Court I on Tuesday, June 9 to learn his third sentence. Special Judge Ted R. Todd from Jefferson County ordered Smith to serve eight years – five years in prison and three years on probation. He was given credit for 666 days served before his sentencing. The sentence won’t have much impact on how much time Smith actually does behind bars. The Dearborn County sentence will be served concurrently, or at the same time, as his other two sentences. Todd did order Smith to pay restitution to his four Dearborn County victims. Smith and his business partner, Jasen Snelling, orchestrated a Ponzi scheme to bilk more than 70 investors in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky out of nearly $9 million from 2004 until 2012. Many of the victims were Smith’s friends and family in southeast Indiana. Snelling, of Cincinnati, is serving a 131 month federal prison sentence and an eight year sentence out of Dearborn County. RELATED STORIES: 40 Year Sentence For Franklin Co. Ponzi Scheme Partner Franklin Co. Ponzi Scheme Partner Pleads To Local Charges Ind. Supreme Court Denies Appeal Of Ponzi Scheme Case Scammer Sentenced To Prison, Must Pay Back Convicted Ponzi Schemer Gets 40 More Years Tri-State Ponzi Schemer Gets 131 Mos. In Prison Another Guilty Plea In Tri-State Ponzi Scheme Securities Scammer Getting 8 Yrs In Dearborn Co.