2003
On November 18, 2003, Gregory Earl Setser, Cynthia Faye Setser, Deborah J. Setser, Charnelle Laura Setser & Torsten Thomas Henschke, doing business through IPIC International, Inc. and affiliated companies, were charged in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, Cause No. 3-03:CR-381-M, with one count of securities fraud and two counts of money laundering.
The defendants were charged with unlawfully carrying on a massive Ponzi scheme targeting churches, ministries, religious organizations and their pastors, leaders and members to invest in purported import/export programs promising a 25-50% return on investments in a three to six month period. The defendants were charged with falsely representing that merchandise was sold to major retailers and that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had inspected and approved their operations.
The defendants were also charged with failing to disclose to investors a former tax lien, bankruptcy, corporate forfeiture and that most of the investors' money was not being used to purchase goods but rather to pay prior investors and for personal purposes.