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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn Indianapolis-area money manager who tried to fake his death in a Florida plane crash has pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges.
Marcus Schrenker entered the plea during a hearing Wednesday in Hamilton Superior Court in Noblesville.
Schrenker struck a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead guilty to five of 11 counts. He could face 10 years in prison and be required to pay more than $600,000 in restitution. The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 7.
Schrenker is accused of bilking friends, family members and other investors out of millions of dollars. More than $30 million in claims have been filed against him, but a court-ordered auction of the financier's property in June brought in far less. The sale of Schrenker's $1.2 million Geist home netted just $100,000.
Schrenker was arrested at a Florida campground in January 2009, two days after officials say he put his plane on autopilot and bailed out over Alabama to flee personal and financial problems. The plane crashed about 200 miles away.
He has claimed he was under psychiatric care and on medication for more than a year beforehand. He said he had been mentally incompetent due to stress and a prescription drug problem.
Under the plea agreement filed Aug. 10, Schrenker would agree to undergo psychiatric treatment as ordered by his probation officer and not to offer financial advice or work in financial management.
Schrenker was sentenced last year to four years in federal prison for a January 2009 Florida plane crash in which he tried to fake his own death.
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