Debris From Millenium

Sunday, October 25, 2009, 9:26am EDT
William Wise assets to be sold at Raleigh auction

The assets of William Wise, a Raleigh man accused of operating a $68 million Ponzi scheme, will be auctioned off Nov. 18 at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Iron Horse Auction Company, Inc. of Rockingham and Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd. of Hillsborough are handling the auction, which Iron Horse says in a news release “will feature 2luxury Mercedes-Benz automobiles and a Cadillac Escalade, a high-end wine collection, women's designer accessories, custom high-end designer diamond jewelry and watches, original art and collectibles.

Bidders can participate in the auction at 1 p.m. Nov. 18 in person or via the Internet.
The proceeds from the auction will be used to pay back investors who lost money in the alleged Ponzi scheme.

The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filed suit earlier this year
against Millennium Bank, a Raleigh-based entity that allegedly collected at least $68 million from investors who believed they were buying high-yield certificates of deposits sold by a bank based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The suit accused Millennium of diverting the funds to a bank account from which Wise and his wife allegedly withdrew more than $13 million for personal use.

Millennium and a number of associated companies never bought any CDs, the suit alleges. Wise, who is accused of spearheading the operation, was one of several defendants i