An Ohio real estate agent who gained an online following through his podcasts and social media messaging was sentenced to six years in federal prison for orchestrating a real estate Ponzi scheme that absorbed over $7.3 million from at least 63 victims nationwide.
According to court documents, Matthew Motil owned and operated several companies from October 2017 to March 2022. Using his podcast and other marketing tools including a book called “Man on Fire,” he presented himself as the “Cash Flow King” and convinced prospective investors to invest their money with him and his real estate companies as a lucrative way to generate passive income.
Motil provided the investors with promissory notes he said were secured by mortgages on properties located throughout Northeast Ohio. However, he used the same properties repeatedly to obtain money from one victim after another, each time providing them with a promissory note purportedly secured by a mortgage. Each victim believed that they were the sole mortgage holder of the investment property and that they would be able to recover their investment through foreclosure if Motil failed to make the payments he promised.
As his investor base grew, he used the newly obtained funds to pay earlier investors to keep the scheme going. Motil also used the victim investors’ money to fund his lifestyle. He funded personal expenses such as leasing a large home on Lake Erie and securing courtside seats to Cleveland Cavaliers home games, and he also used the funds to pay his credit cards and financially sustain his fitness businesses.
“These victims were deceived and manipulated into handing over their hard-earned money to a shameless and selfish individual for his own benefit,” said Acting US Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio. “Our office will take action to prosecute anyone who preys on the trusting nature of others.”
Motil pleaded guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud on Sept. 5, 2024. In addition to his prison term, Motil was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay over $5 million in restitution.
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