Naperville Salesman John T. Burns III Convicted of Selling Nonexistent Turkish Bonds to Retirees

Case from 2015–2016 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Aug. 13, 2015; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

John T. Burns III, a Naperville mortgage salesman, was sentenced on Aug. 13, 2015, to seven years in federal prison for persuading a dozen clients, many of them retirees, to put more than $3.3 million into Turkish bonds that did not exist, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

Later development: In December 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld Burns' fraud convictions but vacated his sentence, restitution and forfeiture orders and sent the case back for resentencing, finding the trial court had not properly determined which losses he caused or what he actually gained [2]. We could not find the result of any resentencing in public sources.

How the scheme worked

According to evidence at Burns' trial, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. Free-meal seminars: Burns mailed postcards inviting people to estate-planning seminars in Illinois and California with a free meal, then booked follow-up meetings.
2. The pitch: In those meetings he pitched an investment in Turkish bonds through USA Retirement Management Services, claiming substantial experience investing for clients and saying he and his parents were invested and doing well.
3. The reality: Burns had no professional investment experience, his family had not invested, and the Turkish bond program did not exist. Investor money was used to pay other investors in a Ponzi-type scheme.
4. His cut: Burns received substantial commissions for each client who put money in, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan S. Hedges said in a sentencing memo, calling his motive "greed; pure and simple."

Burns' sales were part of a larger scheme involving two principals of the firm. Taken together, the overall scheme took in $28 million, according to the indictment [1]. The SEC shut down USA Retirement Management Services, which had offices in Oakbrook Terrace and southern California, in 2010.

The people involved

John T. Burns III, 56, Naperville, Ill.

• Conviction (November 2014): jury verdict on two counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud.
• Sentence (Aug. 13, 2015): 84 months in prison and $3,383,113 in restitution, imposed by U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras ("You were a good salesman, and they bought it") [1].
• Appeal (Dec. 2016): convictions affirmed; sentence, restitution and forfeiture vacated and remanded, United States v. Burns, 843 F.3d 679 (7th Cir. 2016) [2].

Robert Pribilski, 57, Lisle, Ill. — a principal of the firm. Pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count of wire fraud and was awaiting sentencing in August 2015 [1]. We did not find his sentence in public sources.

Mahmut Erhan Durmaz, 45, formerly of Streamwood and Los Angeles — a principal of the firm. Charged; prosecutors said in 2015 that he fled the U.S. in 2010 and was believed to be in Turkey. He is presumed innocent. We found no later arrest or outcome.

Red flags

• "Free lunch" financial seminars that lead to private meetings and a single, exclusive product.
• Foreign bonds sold through a small local firm instead of a registered broker-dealer.
• Salespeople who vouch for an investment by saying their own family is in it.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Check the seller and firm on FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC's adviser search.
2. Ask for the bond's identifier (CUSIP/ISIN) and confirm it with an independent broker.
3. Report investment fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
John T. Burns III, Naperville, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Kocoras); 7th Cir.	Convicted at trial Nov. 2014; sentenced Aug. 13, 2015, to 84 months; sentence vacated and remanded Dec. 2016 (convictions affirmed); resentencing outcome not found	[1], [2]
Robert Pribilski, Lisle, Ill.	N.D. Ill.	Pleaded guilty 2014 to wire fraud; sentence not found in public sources	[1]
Mahmut Erhan Durmaz	N.D. Ill.	Charged; fugitive believed in Turkey as of 2015; no later outcome found in public sources as of Oct. 16, 2026	[1]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Naperville Businessman Sentenced To Seven Years In Federal Prison For Defrauding Investors Of More Than $3 Million," Aug. 13, 2015. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/naperville-businessman-sentenced-seven-years-federal-prison-defrauding-investors-more-3
2. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States v. Burns, 843 F.3d 679 (2016) (via OpenJurist). https://openjurist.org/843/f3d/679/united-states-v-burns

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