The former CEO of Sunwest voluntarily surrendered to U.S. Marshals Thursday.
A Portland grand jury issued a 56-count indictment against Jon Michael Harder earlier this week.
Harder is charged with defrauding more than one thousand investors out of about $130 million.
At its height, Sunwest owned 300 assisted living facilities and served over 15,000 residents. But by 2006, the company was losing millions of dollars.
Allan Garten of the U.S. Department of Justice says Harder told new investors they were putting money into specific Sunwest facilities. But instead, he allegedly commingled the money and used it to pay guaranteed returns to early investors.
Garten say Harder was running a Ponzi scheme while diverting large sums to support his lavish lifestyle, "The indictment alleges a scheme to defraud that was massive in scope and really devastating in impact."
Harder pled not guilty to charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. His attorney, Stephen Sady says Harder fully cooperated and contributed his assests to successfuly resolving his bankruptcy.
