Why is often an absurd question in the case of any crime.
Confessed Ponzi-schemer Sean Mueller, 42 years old, will try to answer it on Dec. 6 when he goes before a Denver District Court Judge, his attorney said Monday.
Why did he take tens of millions from scores of wealthy investors, including former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway?
Why did he lose so much of it day trading stocks and then send his investors fictitious statements claiming gains?
Why did he buy a mansion, throw lavish parties, join the Cherry Hills Country Club, and rub elbows with one of the greatest elbows to throw a football?
“He wants to address the court,” Mueller’s attorney Rick Kornfeld told me. “He wants to try to give his perspective.”
Mueller pleaded guilty on Monday to securities fraud, theft and violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutor Joe Morales will ask the court to put Mueller away for no more than 40 years.
“He pretty much cooperated and pleaded guilty,” Morales said. “He really saved us a lot of time and effort and resources.”
The plea Mueller copped may seem like no bargain. But then I once watched Morales win a 100-year prison sentence for a Ponzi-schemer who stole a fraction of the $140 million in reported liabilities Mueller tallied.
“Going to prison for 40 years is pretty harsh,” Morales said.
Kornfeld, a former federal prosecutor, will ask for less.
His client essentially confessed in April, when he sent his investors an email saying their money was gone and was then intercepted by police in an apparent suicide attempt.
“Every lawyer says their client accepts responsibility,” Kornfeld said. “I really believe he started accepting responsibility back in April When he didn’t end his life, he understood that there was going to be an inevitability to the process. And that there was going to be a punishment and a component of public shaming and embarrassment.”
That’s where Mueller stood on Monday, admitting guilt in a gray county jail shirt that didn’t quite match the gray county jail pants. There wasn’t a hint of swagger or remorselessness to his tone, just handcuffs, shackles and confession.
Why this financial tragedy happened wasn’t a question before the court on Monday, but it will be when Mueller is sentenced in December.
“He spent a lot of time soul-searching to answer that question,” Kornfeld said.
The answer? For now, all we know is that Mueller took money, lost it in trades, sent clients fake statements, and paid himself handsomely for the service.
I would guess he was simply delusional — a trait that went against him in trades, but worked surprisingly well when asking millionaires to part with millions.
Kornfeld told me that when Mueller’s whole story is told, we will see:
“That he was actively trading. That he was trying to get a better result. That he was trading until the end, as opposed to many of these cases where the money goes directly from the investor into the defendant’s pocket That he was putting his own money into the fund.
“He also turned away some investors,” Kornfeld said. “In other cases, that doesn’t happen.”
In the end, life and the freedom to live it are the top assets anyone could have. Why did Mueller risk losing this for integers on computer screen?
“I don’t know that in cases like this you ever come up with the ‘why,'” Kornfeld said. “I think it’s a lot more complicated than some simple explanation. But one of the things we are going to is try to answer that question.”
Al Lewis: 212-416-2617
