Memphis, Tenn.—Former Tennessee State Legislator Larry Bates was sentenced to serve 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for a $20M Ponzi scheme involving the family business of selling gold and silver to investors. Bates is from Martin and served as a state legislator from 1971 to 1976 before moving to Memphis.
Bates, who is now 73, also was ordered by pay $21M in restitution to some 400 people who were defrauded in the scheme. He was convicted in May of 46 counts of fraud.
Bates and his son, Chuck Bates, were sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman in separate hearings. Chuck Bates was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months and ordered to pay $19.6 M in restitution. He was convicted of 17 fraud counts.
According to the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Bates held conferences across the U.S. predicting an economic collapse and emphasizing the need to invest in precious metals. The prosecutor’s office said Bates diverted $4M to create a Christian radio network called International Radio Network.
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