Mich. officials: Member of Winans family ran multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme with phony bonds

Winans family member accused of Ponzi scheme

DETROIT — Michigan regulators said Thursday that a member of the Winans gospel-music family led a fraudulent, multimillion-dollar investment program by promoting bogus Saudi Arabia oil bonds.

The Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation issued a cease-and-desist order, although Commissioner Ken Ross said the alleged scheme probably stopped at the end of 2008.

Ross said Michael Winans Jr. told investors they could double their money in 60 days. Detroit police identified and interviewed at least 180 investors, but state regulators say the actual number is higher.

“Our investigation found that Michael Winans Jr. orchestrated a scheme that resulted in hundreds of Detroit residents losing millions of hard-earned dollars,” Ross said in a release. “Promising sky-high, guaranteed returns, these scammers unscrupulously fleeced unsuspecting churchgoers who let their financial guard down.”

Winans could not immediately be reached for comment. A phone number linked to his address in the Detroit area was unanswered, and numbers listed for Winans’ Detroit-based music publishing company have been disconnected.

Ross said the Ponzi scheme was worth at least $2.6 million but could have been as high as $11 million. He said Winans used connections in Detroit churches to draw investors between early 2007 and late 2008.

State regulators said Winans, his associates and related business entities violated the state’s Uniform Securities Act, and turned over the results of its investigation to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

Those found violating the act face a maximum penalty of $25,000 per violation and 10 years in prison.

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing technique that promises high rates of return with little risk to investors. Money provided by new investors is used to pay seemingly high returns to early stage investors, but the scheme collapses when required redemptions exceed new investments.

Winans is a third-generation member of one of gospel music’s first families. He’s the grandson of Delores “Mom” Winans and David “Pop” Winans Sr., who died last year; and son of Michael Winans Sr., a member of The Winans, a quartet of brothers.