Lake Minnetonka millionaire Colin Chisholm, already in prison on welfare fraud charges, was indicted in federal court Friday, accused of stealing more than $2 million from investors in a phony television network start-up.
Chisholm, 64, was indicted on seven counts of wire fraud and six counts of mail fraud. He made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Becky Thorson in U.S. District Court in St. Paul.
"Chisholm claimed to have devised a creative and exciting investment opportunity," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lola Velazquez-Aguilu. "However, it was built on a series of lies."
Chisholm courted investors who thought they were financing a promising new business enterprise, all the while telling them lies, said state Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman. In reality, Rothman said, Chisholm was using their money for personal enrichment and luxurious living.
According to the indictment and other court documents, since 2004 Chisholm solicited funds from investors using The Caribbean Television Network Inc., (TCN) an entity purportedly formed to broadcast satellite television throughout the Caribbean. As part of the solicitation, he told potential investors that TCN would serve as a network for a group of cable television channels, allowing advertisers to buy advertising time on multiple channels via a single advertising buy.
Throughout the scheme, Chisholm told investors that TCN was on the verge of securing between $20 million and $100 million in funding to begin broadcasting, and that their investment would be used as interim financing for the network.
According to the indictment and court documents:
Chisholm also lied to some investors by telling them they were buying shares of TCN stock owned by his alleged family trust — the Comar Trust — and told some investors that their investments were guaranteed by the Comar Trust. In fact, the Comar Trust did not have funds to guarantee the investments, court documents say.
