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Two North Carolina men have entered guilty pleas after federal prosecutors accused them of orchestrating a $4 million Ponzi scheme through a fake hedge fund, according to a news release.

Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said in a news release that Austin Delano Page, 26, of Grover, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Wednesday. Brandon Alexander Teague, 26, of Belmont, pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Wednesday, King said.

According to plea documents and the plea hearings, from October 2020 to December 2021, Page and Teague were involved in an investment scheme that defrauded hundreds of investors of more than $4 million. Some of the investors were either at or near retirement age, documents showed.

The defendants falsely represented to victims that Page and Teague were running a hedge fund in Kings Mountain that invested in various securities, including stock of well-known companies.

There was no hedge fund, and it didn’t hold any securities licenses or registrations, according to prosecutors. Also, Page and Teague were not licensed to sell securities and did not have a background. In fact, prosecutors said, the men sold campers.

A sentencing hearing hasn’t been scheduled.

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