Orthodontist in Cornelius NC

June 1. [Updated] By Dave Yochum. Two Cornelius residents, Marlin Hershey, 53, and Dana Bradley, 53, face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for orchestrating a large-scale investment scheme.

The Feds said they ran a classic Ponzi scheme.

According to filed court documents and the plea hearings, from approximately 2009 to 2021, the partners conspired to defraud numerous victims who invested in two unregistered securities offerings they promoted, Performance Retire on Rentals (Performance Retire), and Distressed Lending Fund (DLF).

Hershey and Bradley admitted in court that both offerings eventually failed causing significant losses to investors, many of them local.

Nevertheless, they provided victims with investment materials that contained false and misleading statements and did not disclose material information.

For example:

—Bradley and Hershey failed to disclose that they received commission-like payments based on the amount of investments they sold.

—The two provided investors with offering materials that represented the opposite – that nobody would be paid a commission in connection with the investments.

—Bradley and Hershey received payments that were typically 10 percent of an investor’s initial investment and often received an additional payment when an investor extended an investment.

“In this manner, Hershey and Bradley received hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed payments from the sale of securities,” according to a press release issued by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina; North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall; and Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation/Charlotte Division.

Total amount of restitution

The total amount of restitution, as per the plea agreement, is $333,791, apparently mitigated by the fact that Bradley and Hershey, through Performance Retire and DLF, made payments to “investors/victims after the United States had initiated its investigation.”

Failure to disclose

According to court records, Hershey and Bradley also failed to disclose to investors other material information, including negative information about the defendants’ backgrounds and the financial woes faced by some of the entities for which they were soliciting investments.

Because Hershey and Bradley often solicited the same group of investors to invest in the various projects, they took steps to conceal such financial difficulties by making undisclosed loans to various entities so that the entities could, in turn, make their required interest payments to investors.

Classic Ponzi

Hershey and Bradley also solicited new investors and used the new investors’ money to repay the loans and to make Ponzi-style payments to previous investors.

Background

Both own million-dollar properties in Cornelius; Bradley on Waterview and Hershey on Fisherman’s Rest. Both men were prominent Cornelius businessmen and active in philanthropy.

Bryant Boys

Bradley’s and Herrshey’s other enterprises include Bryant Boys LLC. Both are graduates of Bryant University where they are listed on the Honor Roll of Donors.

The two are out on bond. The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not been set.

CORNELIUS, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A business complex that has been likened to another in Cornelius has garnered support from neighbors along the Bailey Road corridor.

The Cornelius Commerce Center project from Greenburg Gibbons Properties would bring roughly 210,000 square feet of “flex-use” commercial buildings to a 36-acre open field across from Bailey Road Park. Town commissioners learned at Monday’s town regular board meeting, five units would house a combination of high-end warehouse spaces and single-story offices much like the Hyde Park complex at the other end of Bailey Road.

“This is a very expensive product to build, so it’s expensive from a rental standpoint,” said Drew Thigpen, senior vice president with Greenburg Gibbons. “We don’t even allow manufacturing. Less-aesthetic uses won’t be able to afford this rent. You’re not going to see broken-down equipment in the front.”

The developer is requesting to change the zoning from Rural Preservation to Conditional Zoning, though the land use is for business campus.

In the traffic impact analysis, engineering firm Ramey Kemp and Associates measured traditional peak traffic times along with the afternoon school pickup times. Bailey Middle School and Hough High School are within a 3/4-mile away.

An internal road is planned, which would have the potential to serve the future Zion Avenue connector. Only a slight signal adjustment at N.C. 115 and 100-foot turn lanes into the complex will be needed since the improvements to the Bailey Road/N.C. 115 interchange were completed in late 2021.

The community meeting and Board of Commissioners meeting had a heavy presence from the Bailey’s Glen 55-and-older community. They were generally in support, only lamenting the traffic associated with the school pick-up and drop-off times.

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When asked about proximity to the park, Thigpen said the company is willing to make its parking lot available for overflow parking. Further, a greenway is planned to extend from Bailey Road Park across the road to the edge of the property in question, requiring a crosswalk.

If the rezoning is approved later this spring, Thigpen said Greenburg Gibbons would start construction in October.

“We think this is so under-supplied,” he said. “We want to have it built as soon as humanly possible.”

The new off-price home store offers high-quality furnishings and home accessories for an extraordinary value.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Homesense, the latest retail experience from the HomeGoods family, will open its newest location in Cornelius, NC on March 23. The store is located in The Shops at the Fresh Market at 20615 Torrence Chapel Road, Suite 100.

Homesense features a wide array of furniture, a rug emporium, a wall art and mirror gallery, an extensive lighting department that includes hanging chandeliers, and a "work from home" section with everything one could possibly need for the home office of today. Customers can also shop for seasonal items, including décor and entertaining essentials, all at prices 20-50% less than full-price retailers, including department and specialty stores.

With new merchandise shipments arriving every week, customers will always see an exciting assortment of quality merchandise at can't miss prices. Shoppers can expect to be inspired by bold, statement-making pieces, without breaking the bank.

"Homesense brings customers even more of what we know they love – beautiful, quality home merchandise at incredible values," said John Ricciuti, President of HomeGoods and Homesense in the U.S. "We are thrilled that Homesense brings a vast and unique selection for customers to discover and curate the homes of their dreams and can't wait to bring this extraordinary shopping experience to the Cornelius community."

GRAND OPENING:

Local shoppers can enjoy the newest Homesense store opening on March 23 at 8:00 a.m. EST. All stores, including the newest openings, have updated health and wellness practices to help protect the health and well-being of customers and Associates. To learn more, visit: https://us.homesense.com/customer-info

STORE FACTS & FEATURES

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

In celebration of its new store location, Homesense will contribute to the Cornelius, NC community by presenting a $10,000 donation to Bags of Hope. An organization that brings hope to the Lake Norman and greater Charlotte area by supplying weekend food provisions to school children who experience food insecurity.

ABOUT HOMESENSE

Homesense operates more than 45 stores in the U.S. and is the newest retail banner of The TJX Companies, Inc., the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. As of October 29, 2022, The TJX Companies operated over 4,700 stores including T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, and Homesense stores as well as tjmaxx.com, marshalls.com, homegoods.com and sierra.com, in the United States; Winners, HomeSense, and Marshalls stores in Canada; T.K. Maxx and Homesense stores, as well as tkmaxx.com in Europe; and T.K. Maxx stores in Australia. For a look inside Homesense, please visit https://us.homesense.com/360. For store locations and additional information, please visit www.homesense.com and www.tjx.com.

SOURCE Homesense

The duo admitted they didn't tell investors the whole story about their operation.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A pair of Cornelius businessmen pleaded guilty in federal court this week to wire fraud conspiracy charges for conducting what prosecutors called a large-scale, Ponzi-style investment scheme that went on for 12 years.

The U.S. District Attorney's Office said Marlin Hershey and Dana Bradley, both 53 years old, kept the scheme going from 2009 until 2021. The duo defrauded several victims who invested in two unregistered securities offerings they promoted: Retire on Rentals and Distressed Lending Fund (DLF). Both projects eventually failed, inflicting major losses on investors.

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The duo was able to court investors by giving them materials with false and misleading statements without disclosing material information. For example, neither of the men shared they received commission-like payments based on the number of investments they sold - typically 10% of an investor's initial investment - plus additional payments when investors extended investments. Rather, they claimed nobody would be paid a commission.

In reality, the businessmen got hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed payments from the sale of securities, along with regular undisclosed "management fees" from both Retire on Rentals and DLF.

Hershey and Bradley also didn't tell investors about other details, including negative information about themselves and the financial woes faced by some of the entities they solicited investments for. Since the pair often solicited the same group of investors, they took steps to hide the financial difficulties by making undisclosed loans to other entities. In turn, those entities could make the required interest payments to investors.

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The duo also solicited new investors and used the new money coming in to repay the loans and make Ponzi-style payments to previous investors. Additionally, they sent investors periodic performance reports that failed to disclose the status and health of their investments.

It wouldn't be until 2019 that investors learned for the first time that the projects they invested in were in financial distress and could no longer meet significant obligations.

Both men pleaded guilty on Friday, June 2, 2023. They were released on bond, but could each face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 maximum. Sentencing dates are not yet set.

The Securities Division of the North Carolina Secretary of State's Office and the FBI led the joint investigation.

WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.

Total Wine is closing its Birkdale Village store in Huntersville and moving to a larger Lake Norman location 3 miles up Interstate 77 in Cornelius.

Signs are up on the building at the new store in the Shops at the Fresh Market center off West Catawba Avenue and Torrence Chapel Road.

And a sign announcing the pending move greets customers entering the longtime Birkdale Village Total Wine beside Barnes & Noble. Birkdale Village is on Sam Furr Road off I-77 Exit 25.

The new location is 3 1/2 times larger, employees at the Birkdale Village Total Wine told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday.

Besides wine and beer, the new location will include a humidor for cigar sales, employees said. Smaller blue signage under the red “Total Wine” letters on the Cornelius building tout “Beer Cigars & More.”

The new Total Wine is opening beside a HomeSense discount home furnishings store. Last summer, when the new Total Wine store was officially announced, Birkdale officials left open-ended whether the store would be closing.

The Total Wine store totals 21,409 square feet and the HomeSense store 25,000 square feet, according to SiteCenters.com.

By comparison, The Fresh Market is 24,396 square feet, a SiteCenters.com diagram of the center shows.

The new Total Wine is scheduled to open in mid-July, employees at the Birkdale Village store said.

At Birkdale Village, meanwhile, 17 openings are expected this year, owner North American Properties said in April. The redevelopment also includes business expansions, relocations and remodels, according to NAP, the Observer previously reported.

The openings include five national and regional apparel chains, including Anthropologie and Lilly Pulitzer. One store — Southern Tide — is new to the Charlotte market.

Other retailers and restaurants opening at Birkdale Village include Bartaco, Drybar, Foxcroft Wine Co., The Cheesecake Factory and The Good Wurst Co.

In May, Charlotte-based Suffolk Punch Brewing — which just opened a second location in SouthPark — announced plans to open in a two-story building in Birkdale Village early next year, the Observer reported.

Staff Writer Catherine Muccigrosso contributed.

This story was originally published June 22, 2023, 4:56 PM.