Berwyn man pleads guilty in $17 million Ponzi scheme

A 56-year-old Berwyn man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 260 investors of more than $17 million.

Robert Stinson ran a company called Life’s Good Inc. that solicited investments in one of four real-estate hedge funds, promising fixed returns of between 10 to 16 percent annually. Rather than invest the money as promised, officials say Stinson ran an elaborate Ponzi scheme.

Stinson is also accused of claiming he was a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bounty of business experience. In fact, he had been convicted of fraud multiple times.

Stinson pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, nine counts of money laundering, one count of bank fraud, three counts of filing false tax returns, two counts of obstruction of justice, and two counts of making false statements to federal agents.

As part of the investigation, the FBI seized two Mercedes Benz sedans that Stinson had purchased with proceeds from his fraud.

Sentencing is scheduled for December.