"Casanova Con Man" Convicted On All Counts

April 23, 2007 -- (SANTA FE)— A Santa Fe County jury, late Friday, found white collar criminal Michael Soutar guilty on all charges. Soutar faced a total of 10 counts of 3rd degree Securities fraud, 3rd degree failure to register securities, 3rd degree sales of securities by an unlicensed broker and 2nd degree racketeering. Because of the method he used to defraud his female victims of their money in a prior case, Soutar was dubbed the “Casanova Con Man.”

Attorney General Gary King says, “My office has pursued this criminal around the country in order to bring him to justice and we intend to send the message that we take this kind of white collar fraud seriously and will aggressively prosecute such cases to the fullest extent of the law.”

Soutar opened the Santa Fe Market in March of 2004 after soliciting money from his victims to invest in the business. Soutar, on probation at the time, did not disclose to his investors that he had nine previous felony convictions, four civil judgments against him and a bankruptcy.

After being placed in jail, Soutar escaped from an Albuquerque work detail in late 2004 and was later captured on a yacht in Boston Harbor in the fall of 2005. Soutar was featured on the television program “America’s Most Wanted,” as was referred to as “The Casanova Con Man” because he solicited money from women with whom he started relationships.

He faces up to 36 years in prison plus applicable habitual offender time. Soutar could be required to pay minimum restitution of $125,000 plus a potential $5,000 fine for each count. Soutar is currently in custody in the Santa Fe County Detention Center.
The case was a joint prosecution between the Attorney General’s Office and the New Mexico Securities Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department.

Source: New Mexico Attorney General

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