NC pair first sold campers, then ran a phony hedge fund that took millions from clients
So a couple of 20-something, small-town North Carolina camper salesmen decide they want to run a multi-million-dollar hedge fund. What could go wrong?
Plenty.
On Wednesday, Austin Page of Grover and Brandon Teague of Belmont pleaded guilty in Charlotte federal court to operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked clients out of $4 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Financial crimes involving large sums of stolen investments are common in and around banking centers like Charlotte. Yet, Page and Teague’s brazenness in what they did, where they did it and how they spent some of the stolen money sets them apart.
For starters, neither of the 26-year-olds was ever schooled, trained or licensed to sell securities. They sold campers. They changed careers in October 2020, when they began pitching potential clients on the merits of D&T Investment Group — and the supposed hedge fund they ran from a small brick office in Kings Mountain, right down East King Street from an auto parts store and a discount mattress and furniture shop.
They found investors, 300 in all, according to prosecutors. Page and Teague lured their clients with contracts guaranteeing 100% of the initial investments plus 70% of what the conspirators promised to be jaw-dropping profits from stock buys in Apple and other blue-chip companies.
But there were almost no profits. According to documents, Page and Teague used most of the money they received from new investors to pay off the old ones. They burned through much of the rest.
Page, the majority partner, paid some of his employees — including members of his family — six-figure salaries. In an unusual campaign to promote the company brand, he also doled out thousands of extra dollars to staff members who agreed to have the company logo tattooed on their bodies.
Page and Teague used the funds for themselves, too, siphoning off tens of thousands of dollars of other people’s money for clothing, jewelry, travel, luxury car rentals and heaps of cash, documents show.
In 2021, the money began to run low, and investors and employees alike started asking questions. In response, Page created a fake screenshot of a supposed D&T brokerage account that showed a balance of more than $16 million.
The actual holdings that day were $6.76, documents show.
Angry investors
On Dec. 2, with D&T collapsing around them, Page and Teague flew to Italy. That same day, Page called Kings Mountain to tell D&T’s unsuspecting employees that the company was closing, documents show.
After almost a month abroad, Page and Teague made their return trip to the States on New Year’s Eve. When they landed at Kennedy Airport in New York, they were surprised to find the FBI waiting.
Back in Charlotte in early January, the pair first faced a judge — then the anger of their victimized investors.
“I actually do wanna hear from them,” Stephen Di Tillio told WSOC, a Charlotte Observer news partner. “I want to know how they can step into somebody’s life, tear it apart, and leave.”
Debbie Hicks told the TV station that she trusted Teague and Page with $20,000 of her retirement savings.
“So, where’s the money?” she asked. “That’s my question, where’s all this money?”
On Wednesday, Page pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Teague’s crime, securities fraud, could put him in prison for up to five years. It also carries up to a $250,000 fine.
Page’s attorney, Kevin Marcilliat of Wilmington, did not respond to an Observer email seeking comment. Teague’s attorney, Samuel Randall of Rock Hill, did not comment
They will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney at a later date.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "NC pair first sold campers, then ran a phony hedge fund that took millions from clients."
