Pell City Man charged in scheme to defraud investors

Published 11:25 am Monday, October 2, 2023

A Pell City man has been charged with a scheme to defraud investors in his various companies, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

According to a filing in United States District Court, John Michael Golden, 48, has been charged with one count of wire fraud.

According to the filing, Golden was the founder and owner of Wolf-Tek, LLC; MountainTop Timber, LLC; and DroneTek, Inc. The filing alleges that between January 2018 and July 2022, Golden devised a scheme to persuade individuals to invest in his companies. He made various misrepresentations to the investors, including his businesses were about to be sold for millions of dollars to companies such as Amazon, he had timber leases and an ability to harvest timber for profit, and he had hundreds of pre-orders for drones that he simply needed capital to fulfill. Golden also gave some investors Promissory Notes in which he misrepresented his ability to repay. Golden defrauded investors in his companies of more than $3.5 million dollars. He used the funds to pay back prior investors and for personal expenses.

The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Rummage is prosecuting the case.