Judge OKs $2M judgment in Ponzi scheme

SANDPOINT — The Bernie Madoff of Bonner County has been ordered to pay $2 million in restitution to investors duped in a Ponzi scheme.

The Idaho Department of Finance announced on Friday that a 1st District Court judge has entered a $2 million default judgment against Dale Edward Lowell in connection with his cratered investment business.

The department sued Lowell last July for selling unregistered investment contracts to at least 23 investors. He was also accused of misrepresenting and omitting material facts about the investments and his trading prowess.

Lowell, the state argued, falsely claimed the investments were risk-free and otherwise backed by his personal assets. He further claimed he had a strong background in successful options trading, but in reality had lost money trading securities every year since 2002.

Lowell, 57, also failed to disclose to newer investors that their funds were being used to pay returns to older investors, the trademark of a Ponzi scheme.

The swindle is named after Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who notoriously used the scam in the 1920s.

Madoff, 71, made history in 2008 when his vaunted wealth-management business was revealed to be a massive Ponzi scheme that caused $65 billion in losses to investors. He is currently serving a 150-year sentence in a federal penitentiary.

When Lowell’s scam unraveled last year, he admitted in an e-mail to investors that 99.99 percent of all his representations turned out to be 100 percent false.

The state sought a default judgment because Lowell failed to defend himself in court, although he had appeared for some depositions and submitted some documents. A trio of aggrieved investors sued Lowell in Washington state court last year and won a $300,000 default judgment, court documents indicate.

Lowell, a former Sandpoint real estate agent, reportedly relocated to Colbert Wash., prior to being sued by the state.

Judge Steve Verby entered the judgment against Lowell on Dec. 16, 2009, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository. The order found Lowell had violated registration and anti-fraud provisions of the Idaho Uniform Securities Act.

A civil penalty of $40,000 was also imposed and Lowell was permanently enjoined from engaging selling or offering securities in the state of Idaho.

Lowell’s 30-year-old son, Luke, was also implicated in the Idaho lawsuit. The department said its case against Luke Lowell continues.

The state alleges Luke Lowell benefited from $300,000 of improper transfers made to him by his father.