Staff Sgt. accused of stealing half-million dollars
Posted: 03.26.2010 at 7:33 PM
SSgt. Delroy Henry
Photo

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A Staff Sergeant at Fort Carson is accused of stealing half a million dollars from his fellow soldiers.

Police say 39-year-old Delroy Henry was running a Ponzi scheme.

Cops say Henry would convince fellow soldiers to invest their money with him. He promised an 18 percent return to investors.

But investigators say Henry never invested the money.

Police say they began getting complaints back in October. And after a six-month investigation they arrested Henry for securities fraud, theft and forgery.

Henry is being held at the El Paso County jail on a $500,000 bond. Coincidentally, that’s exactly how much cash investigators think he swindled from 97 Fort Carson soldiers.

"He was actually coaxing, allegedly, some of these soldiers into investing with his firm," said district attorney spokesperson Kathleen Walsh.

Investigators say Henry lured victims by promising them an huge returns on their investment.

"SSgt. Henry was actually convincing some of these soldiers to sign up in his investment firm saying that he could make them money," Walsh said.

But in reality, investigators say Henry invested very little of the money he took in.

"The people who invested they wouldn’t get their money back. There would be excuses or if they did get some money back then that would be borrowed from another investor," Walsh said.

FOX21 News went to Henry’s home near Security to try and talk with his family. A woman claiming to be his daughter answered the door but denied Henry did anything wrong.

Investigators say because Henry preyed on Fort Carson soldiers, there may be victims all over the world.

"We really do anticipate that more victims are probably going to come forward," Walsh said.

In a twist, one of Henry’s duties in his unit was to advise other soldiers on financial matters.

If you think you may have fallen victim to Henry’s scheme, police want to hear from you.

So far, Henry is facing 12 felony charges, but there could be more to come.

If convicted he could face 96 years in prison.