A Pell City man is facing close to six years behind bars after being convicted of a $4.7 million finance fraud scheme that affected the finances of more than 40 investors.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama, John Michael Golden, 48, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor to 71 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Golden, who pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud in April, was the founder and owner of Wolf-Tek, LLC; MountainTop Timber, LLC; and DroneTek, Inc.
The plea agreement and information provided at the sentencing showed that between January 2018 and at least October 2023, Golden created a plan to convince associates to invest in his companies.
“He made multiple misrepresentations to the investors, including telling them his businesses were about to be sold for millions of dollars to companies such as Amazon, he had timber leases and an ability to harvest timber for profit, and he had hundreds of pre-orders for drones that he simply needed capital to fulfill,” a statement from the Attorneys Office said. “Golden also gave some investors Promissory Notes in which he falsely promised lucrative returns on investments within a short period of time.”
“To continue his scheme, Golden falsely assured victims through text messages that their money was available and would arrive on specific future dates.”
The Pell City man even defrauded a new victim just eight days after originally signing a plea agreement. He has also had his bond revoked for contacting victims and continuing to make false promises to them regarding repayment.
Golden reportedly used his ill-gotten gains to pay back prior investors and for personal expenses.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
