F. Jeffrey Miller, the primary defendant in an alleged $25 million mortgage fraud scheme, has been acquitted by a federal jury.

A jury in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on Friday said Miller was not guilty of 56 criminal counts of money laundering and bank fraud.

Miller was one of the top Kansas City-area home builders in 1999 and 2000. He and several others were charged in 2006 with falsifying loan documents to lenders on behalf of customers with credit problems who lacked enough money for down payments on homes. The scheme also involved fraudulently inflated appraisals on homes in the Kansas City area.

Some defendants had been dismissed from the original indictment; several others have pleaded guilty.

Jeffrey Morris, a Berkowitz Oliver Williams Shaw & Eisenbrandt LLP lawyer representing Miller, was not immediately available for comment.

This case is separate from another 2006 indictment against Miller. In 2008, he was convicted along with two others of conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering for trying to continue to perpetrate his alleged fraud while under his original indictment for the $25 million fraud. A jury ordered Miller to forfeit $2.6 million in that case.

A Kansas City home builder already under indictment for fraud was arrested Thursday in connection with a new federal grand jury indictment for allegedly continuing to operate illegally while his trial is pending.

F. Jeffrey Miller, 45, of Stanley, was indicted in May on charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. Miller, a building contractor in Kansas, Missouri and other states, was allowed to continue doing business after agreeing that an outside court-approved consultant could monitor his activities, U.S. Attorney for Kansas Eric Melgren said in a release Thursday.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in Topeka indicted Miller and three others on new charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, destroying records, criminal contempt and interfering with a witness, Melgren said.

Also charged in the new indictment are Stephen W. Vanatta, 43, of Lenexa; Hallie Irvin, 26, of Lenexa; and James Sparks, 35, of Lawson, Mo.

If convicted, Melgren said, the accused would be subject to the following penalties:

* Conspiracy: A maximum of five years in federal prison and a fine of as much as $250,000.
* Bank fraud: A maximum of 30 years and a fine of as much as $1 million on each count.
* Unlawful monetary transactions: A maximum of 10 years and a fine of as much as $250,000.
* Destruction of records in a federal investigation: A maximum of 20 years and a fine of as much as $250,000.
* Attempting to intimidate a witness: A maximum of 10 years and a fine of as much as $250,000.
* Criminal contempt: A maximum of five years and a fine based on the court’s discretion.

Matthew B. Pizzolato, 26, of Tickfaw, Louisiana, was charged December 2, 2009 by a federal grand jury sitting in New Orleans in a 64-count indictment for operating an investment “Ponzi” Scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Specifically, Pizzolato was charged with 52 counts of mail fraud ( counts 1-52 ), two counts of wire fraud ( counts 53, 54 ), seven counts of money laundering ( counts 55-61 ), one count of securities fraud ( count 62 ), one count of witness tampering ( count 63 ), and one count of obstruction of justice ( count 64 ) in violation of federal law.

According to today’s indictment, since 2005, MATTHEW B. PIZZOLATO, was affiliated with and/or operated and/or owned Gulf Region Guaranty, Inc. ( Gulf Region Guaranty ) and its affiliated companies Acadian Guaranty Group, LLC; Allegiance Financial, LLC; Annuity Presets, LLC; Annuity Recovery Services, LLC; Anova Marketing Systems, LLC; Anova Marketing Systems, LLC; Anytime Fitness of Sulphur, LLC; Cornerstone Wealth Management, LLC; Global Assured Financial, Inc.; Green Pelican Group, Inc.; Gulf South Guaranty, Inc.; Gulf States Guaranty, LLC; GRG Holdings, LLC; GRG I, LLC; GRG II, LLC; Matt P, LLC; National Insurance Advisors, LLC; Pelican Guaranty Group, Inc. ( Pelican Guaranty ); and Spectrum Lending Group, LLC. PIZZOLATO maintained offices in Hammond, Covington, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, and also conducted business in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

Pizzolato is charged with having purchased hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of luxury cars using investor money including a BMW 750LI, a Mercedes Benz S430V, a Range Rover Sport, and a Chevrolet Corvette. Additionally, the indictment charges that Pizzolato used investor money to build a new half-million dollar home in Ponchatoula, Louisiana and to purchase a $35,000.00 engagement ring.

According to the indictment, during the time period of 2005 through the date of the indictment, Pizzolato, obtained approximately $19.5 Million from approximately 160 investors and spent nearly all of the money.

Seniors and Retirees were prime targets

According to the allegations, during this time period, Pizzolato operated an investment “Ponzi” scheme targeting older investors, specifically retirees. Pizzolato lured his potential victims through advertisements in the local daily newspapers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Hammond by promising rates of returns that were higher than market rates for CDs or U.S. Treasury Bills.

FBI Special Agent in Charge David Welker stated: “It is unconscionable that in this stressful economy senior citizens would be targeted and defrauded of their life savings. We have an obligation to aggressively investigate crimes against those citizens who are most vulnerable. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively pursue those who target our most vulnerable citizens.”

If convicted, Pizzolato faces up to twenty ( 20 ) years imprisonment for each count of mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and witness tampering; and up to ten ( 10 ) years imprisonment for each of the money laundering and obstruction of justice charges. He also faces fines of up to $16 million and five (5) years of supervised release after he is released from prison.