Anchorage man accused of massive fraud scheme changes plea to guilty

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Garrett Elder, 30, the Anchorage man accused of defrauding people out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi-like scheme, was in federal court Friday for a change of plea hearing. Elder is expected to change his plea from not guilty to guilty in the charge of wire fraud.

Authorities with the United States Department of Justice and the Alaska Division of Banking and Securities both said that Elder bilked well over 100 investors out of millions of dollars between 2016 and 2022.

Elder ran two business from a location on Old Seward Highway called Tycoon Trading, LLC and Daily Bread Fund, LLC.. Through his companies, authorities say elder took $30 to $34 million dollars from approximately 140 investors — and he allegedly lost about $25 million of that money. Most of his victims are from Alaska.

“It’s a travesty. It’s an absolute miscarriage of justice,” former client Mike Tittle said. Tittle said he and his wife invested over a million dollars with Garrett’s investment companies.

As part of the plea deal Elder signed, he agrees to forfeit 37 acres of land, a Ford F-350 pickup truck, a camping trailer, a boat, interest in multiple LLCs, and money in nine bank and brokerage accounts.

During the time Elder was running his investment scam, authorities say he was providing victims with fraudulent statements indicating their investments had earned significant profits.

Elder’s sentencing is set for 90 days from today. The Justice Department says it will recommend a prison sentence of 87 months — or just over seven years. The maximum sentence for wire fraud is 20 years in prison.

“They stated earlier that this would be a 63-month proposed sentence, and then yesterday they came back with oh, wait a minute, how about 87, how’s that sound? Sounds bad,” Tittle said, who wants Elder to spend the maximum time in prison.

Elder is also expected to pay restitution in an amount between $24 to $27 million dollars to his alleged victims, but the total amount that can be recovered is likely to be much less.

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