CLEVELAND, Ohio — A former Ohio podcaster recently learned his punishment for a real estate Ponzi scheme that defrauded over $7.3 million from at least 63 victims across the country.
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Matthew Motil, 45, of North Olmsted, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison on Friday for securities fraud and wire fraud, according to a spokesperson with the Northern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Court documents indicate that Motil was a licensed real estate agent in Ohio from October 2017 to March 2022.
During this time, he owned and operated several companies, the spokesperson added.
Motil, who branded himself as the ‘Cash Flow King,’ used his podcast and other marketing tools to position himself as a real estate expert and defraud investors.
“Using a combination of marketing tactics, he solicited prospective investors to invest their money with him and his real estate companies as a lucrative way to generate passive income,” the spokesperson said.
He then gave the victims promissory notes that he said were secured by mortgages on properties in Northeast Ohio.
However, Motil continuously used the same properties to get the investor’s money.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Motil deflected questions about the mortgages from investors by claiming long processing times, using new funds from additional investors to pay earlier ones, and sustaining the scheme.
“These victims were deceived and manipulated into handing over their hard-earned money to a shameless and selfish individual for his own benefit,” Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio said. “Our office will take action to prosecute anyone who preys on the trusting nature of others.”
He used the money to fund personal expenses, including leasing a large home on Lake Erie and securing courtside seats to Cleveland Cavaliers games, according to the spokesperson.
Motil has also been ordered to pay more than $5 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after he is released.
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