GR-area men sentenced in Ponzi scheme

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Three men were sentenced Monday for their part in a Ponzi scheme that bilked more than $800,000 out of victims.

James Wiederhold, 39, of Byron Center, was sentenced to 72 months in jail and three years probation. He must pay $827,300 in restitution and a forfeiture of $803,000 was ordered.

Wiederhold along with Anthony Rinkus, 32, of Key West and Joseph Angioi of Ovideo, Florida were named in federal indictments of trying to hide money from creditors in the Atlas Fund.

Investors wired nearly $1 million to the men to use in that business, but they spent it on themselves instead. Some of it was used in a Ponzi-style scheme to make investors believe they were earning interest on their money, according to the government.

Ten counts of wire fraud and four counts of securities fraud were tagged to James Wiederhold, Rinkus and Angioi. Wiederhold is also faced three additional counts of securities fraud and five counts of bankruptcy fraud.

Also named in the indictments were Wiederhold's father, Neal, and his uncle, Larry Niewenhuis, of East Grand Rapids. Those men pleaded guilty to helping James Wiederhold hide the fraud.

Neal Wiederhold, 62, was sentenced 12 months and one day in jail, two years probation and restitution. Niewenhuis was sentenced to 24 months behind bars, two years of supervised release and restitution.

Rinkus was sentenced to 35 months imprisonment in July 2011. Angioi was sentenced to 5 years probation in September 2011.