Building Owner Sentenced To 5 Years In $7M Bond Fraud

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A building owner who pleaded guilty to selling $7 million in fake bonds and spending the money on expensive cars and Ravens tickets has been sentenced to more than 5 years in prison.

Fifty-four-year-old Wilfred Azar III, formerly of Queenstown, was also ordered to pay restitution at sentencing Tuesday in federal court in Baltimore.

According to his plea agreement and court documents, Azar was head of a corporation that owned Empire Towers, a 10-story office building in Glen Burnie.

Prosecutors say although the corporation was insolvent, Azar sold bonds to dozens of investors and used the money for his personal benefit.

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