Man convicted of $26M Ponzi scheme released [View all]
WAILUKU — Former Maui resident and The Mortgage Store owner George Lindell, who was convicted with his daughter of bilking 166 people out of more than $26 million in a Ponzi scheme, has been granted “compassionate release” after serving about a third of his 17-year federal prison sentence.
In a ruling Feb. 5, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson reduced Lindell’s sentence to the approximately five years and eight months he already had served, citing Lindell’s loss of vision from age-related macular degeneration while in prison.
“The Court finds that Lindell’s preventable vision loss constitutes an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting the reduction he seeks,” Watson wrote in granting Lindell’s request to be released. “Despite the contemptible nature of his crimes, his failure to take responsibility and his apparently cavalier attitude towards his many victims, Lindell did nothing to deserve the loss of what many consider to be their most vital sense.”
Lindell was sentenced in September 2016 to 17 years and six months in prison.
Read more: https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2021/04/man-convicted-of-26m-ponzi-scheme-released/
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