A Las Vegas attorney who was shot and injured by FBI agents last week is accused of orchestrating a $300 million Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
Matthew Beasley, 49, faces one count of assault on a federal officer following the Thursday shooting at his home on the 5400 block of Ruffian Road, near Ann Road. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Lopez said the shooting unfolded because of an investigation into the alleged Ponzi scheme, which dates back to 2017.
“The defendant said he expected the FBI to come for him that day because the FBI had visited an associate earlier,” the prosecutor said during a federal court hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
Lopez said Beasley “repeatedly confessed” to his involvement in the scheme, which was worth about $300 million, and admitted orchestrating it. Further information about the scheme was not immediately available.
About 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a trio of agents arrived at Beasley’s home to interview him for an “ongoing investigation,” according to a criminal complaint.
Beasley came to the door holding a gun, and at one point pointed the gun at his own head, Lopez said Tuesday. When the agents yelled for Beasley to drop the gun, he pointed the firearm at the agents “in a sweeping motion,” the complaint said.
The agents then shot Beasley in the chest and shoulder, Lopez said.
Beasley, bleeding from the gunshot wounds, refused to leave his home for nearly four hours. As he was talking with an FBI negotiator,…
