WAUSAU, Wis. (WFRV) – A Wisconsin investment advisor has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering after allegedly stealing more than $15 million from investors in a years-long scheme.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, 63-year-old Stanley Pophal of Wausau was formally charged and made his initial appearance in federal court on Monday.
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The criminal complaint alleges that beginning in 2019, Pophal solicited investors to purchase promissory notes with supposedly guaranteed rates of return. To lure investors into the scheme, he falsely claimed to be a wealthy businessman.
Between May 2019 and March 2025, Pophal reportedly received more than $15 million from at least 120 investors.
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Authorities say that rather than investing the funds, Pophal used the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle, including the purchase of more than 300 snowmobiles. He also allegedly used new investor funds to make “lulling payments” to earlier investors, creating the illusion that they were earning legitimate returns.
No additional details have been released at this time.
