Hamblen County Man Sentenced After Executing Ponzi Scheme

A Hamblen County man has been sentenced for defrauding over 50 people out of over one million dollars. According to court documents, 60 year old Michael D. Harris conducted what is commonly referred to as a Ponzi scheme in the Morristown area. From 2015 to 2020, Harris convinced victims to invest money with him based on his self-proclaimed expertise as a stock trader. In exchange for giving Harris their money, the victims either obtained guaranteed return promissory notes or membership interests in purported investment group plans.

Harris would then provide weekly market updates and phony plan share values. All the while, Harris was spending money on himself, losing money in speculative investments, and using new investor’s money to repay previous investors. In total, Harris defrauded 52 victims out of over $1.5 million. Harris has been sentenced to 33 months in prison and to pay full restitution to his victims.