Robert G. Nelson Gets 66 Months for Promissory Note Ponzi That Promised Up to 45% in Three Months

Case from 2013–2014 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: July 19, 2013; 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.

Robert G. Nelson, a 40-year-old Chicago man, was sentenced on July 18, 2013, to 66 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2.643 million in restitution. He had sold promissory notes in a Ponzi scheme that took about $2.6 million from about 35 victims, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the judgment on Dec. 19, 2014 [2].

How the scheme worked

According to prosecutors [1]:

1. The notes: From January 2006 to mid-2008, Nelson sold promissory notes himself and through his companies: F.C. Financial Inc., Future Capital Financial Inc. and RGN Investment Group.
2. The pitch: He told investors the notes were safe and that the money would buy real estate and fund investments paying high interest quickly, sometimes as much as 45% in three months.
3. The reality: He used new money to pay earlier investors and to cover family expenses. In all, he took in more than $6 million.
4. "One more investment": At sentencing, prosecutors argued that he repeatedly told desperate investors he would repay everything they were owed if they invested just once more.
5. Ignoring a state order: In 2007, the Illinois Department of Securities barred Nelson and his companies from selling promissory notes. He kept selling into mid-2008, which led to the criminal investigation.

The sentence

Robert G. Nelson, 40, Chicago

• Plea: guilty to mail fraud in December 2012.
• Sentence: 66 months in prison and $2.643 million in restitution, imposed by U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan. He was ordered to report to prison Sept. 17, 2013 [1].
• Appeal: The Seventh Circuit affirmed in a per curiam opinion, 774 F.3d 1104 (No. 13-2648), rejecting his challenge to the sentencing findings [2].

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Illinois Secretary of State's Securities Department investigated.

Red flags

• Returns like 45% in three months, especially when the investment is called "safe and secure."
• Promissory notes sold by unregistered individuals. Many notes count as securities that must be registered.
• Pressure to invest more before you can get your earlier money back.

Protect yourself

1. Check the seller and the offering with the Illinois Secretary of State Securities Department or your state regulator, and on FINRA BrokerCheck at brokercheck.finra.org.
2. Search for state cease-and-desist orders against the seller or the seller's companies.
3. Report investment fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Robert G. Nelson, Chicago	N.D. Ill. (Judge Der-Yeghiayan); 7th Cir. No. 13-2648	Pleaded guilty Dec. 2012 to mail fraud; sentenced July 18, 2013, to 66 months and $2.643M restitution; affirmed Dec. 19, 2014	[1], [2]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Chicago Man Sentenced To 5½ Years In Federal Prison For $2.6 Million Investment Fraud Scheme," July 19, 2013. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-man-sentenced-5-years-federal-prison-26-million-investment-fraud-scheme
2. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States v. Robert Nelson, 774 F.3d 1104, Dec. 19, 2014. https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2014/12/19/united_states_v._robert_nelson.pdf

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