A Lancaster County man pleaded guilty to fraud after the feds accused him of running a $400 million Ponzi scheme

A Lancaster County man pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding investors in his ATM businesses out of more than $400 million, a long-running scam that federal authorities have characterized as a Ponzi scheme.

Daryl Heller, 56, of Lititz, was indicted last year after prosecutors said he deceived thousands of people who had invested in several businesses he owned that he used to buy and operate ATMs.

As he sought to raise money for his firms, prosecutors said, Heller promised investors guaranteed monthly returns, which he said would be the result of operating the ATMs. And he also courted investors by using forged or fraudulent financial documents to inflate the purported health of his businesses, prosecutors said.

Once Heller got cash infusions, prosecutors said, he used them to pay back old investors. He also spent some of the money on personal expenses or business debts.

The scheme began to fall apart in 2023, when one of his companies, Paramount Management Group, began struggling to raise new money. Several months later, prosecutors said, Paramount stopped making payments to its older investors.

Heller later filed for bankruptcy protection — which remains pending — and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia indicted him last August.

In all, prosecutors said, Heller raised about $770 million from 2,700 people between 2017 and 2024, causing his investors to lose about $400 million (Heller’s attorneys said Monday that they don’t agree with that number and plan to dispute it in court before he is sentenced).

Heller said little in court beyond responding to routine legal questions while pleading guilty to a securities fraud charge. He declined to comment after the hearing.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Henry is scheduled to sentence Heller in December. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.