Holly Springs man created Ponzi scheme with scissors, tape, copier

While working as a financial adviser at two Raleigh firms, Hugh Monroe Dyson created a fictitious oil and gas drilling firm called Keyport Oil that he pitched to clients from 1993 to 2012, authorities said. During that time, he used scissors, tape and a copier to fabricate stock certificates for investors. He then used their money for personal expenses and to pay other investors dividend checks, authorities said.

The Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2012, and investors lost more than $289,000.

Dyson, 67, was convicted of mail fraud, and U.S. District Judge James Dever III ordered him to make full restitution to his investors. That prompted Dyson to argue that he should receive a probationary sentence so he could put together the money to repay them.

Dever rejected the request after learning that Dyson has made no effort to pay any restitution in the last five years, even after investors won a civil court judgment against him for the money they lost.