A self-professed stock trader and former treasurer of a church’s charitable foundation was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for fraud, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced Friday.
Thomas Calhoun Bain, 75, of Dallas, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of wire fraud. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle, who also ordered Bain to pay $1,725,551 in restitution to various victims.
Bain served as the treasurer of a Dallas church’s charitable foundation from 2016 to 2022. He was responsible for distributing monetary donations to organizations supporting gospel-based initiatives. According to plea documents, Bain recommended that the foundation issue 15 large donations to an entity he claimed would further the church’s mission. He told the entity that the foundation wanted to use it as a conduit to pass funds on to other charities anonymously. Bain directed the entity to send all the funds to him, purportedly so he could distribute the money to the intended charities.
Instead of doing so, Bain kept the funds—totaling approximately $1.4 million—for his own use. He spent the money on personal expenses, including rent for a home in Highland Park, a country club membership, domestic and international travel, and a vacation rental in Aspen.
During this time, Bain also defrauded investors through his company, BainTrade. Despite lacking professional licenses, certifications, training, or relevant education, Bain represented himself as a "trader" and falsely promised investors an annual return of at least 8%. He also promised a 50-50 split of any yearly return above 8% between himself and the investors.
Bain operated a Ponzi-type scheme, using funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors. He diverted remaining investor funds to cover his personal expenses, including his high-end rental home, country club membership, and travel, which helped him project an image of wealth and success. To further the scheme, Bain generated fake contracts, required investors to sign them, and issued fraudulent account statements showing fabricated annual earnings and profits. He falsely claimed to be investing his own money alongside his investors' funds.
From 2010 to 2022, Bain fraudulently obtained more than $871,000 from BainTrade investors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation, leading to Bain's prosecution and sentencing.
