Appearing anything but the highflier he portrayed himself to be, a contrite Michael Krzyzaniak pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis to stealing over $20 million by wire fraud and tax evasion.
Dressed in orange prison garb, Krzyzaniak, 62, looked haggard as he stood before U.S. District Chief Judge Michael Davis, admitting that he duped gullible investors across the country into believing that his development and entrepreneurial schemes would yield huge returns.
Krzyzaniak has been soliciting investors since 2003 for projects that included a golf resort in Desert Hot Springs, Calif., and a NASCAR-style racetrack in Elko New Market. Among those he drew into his projects was golf pro Phil Mickelson.
Krzyzaniak faces nine to 11 years in prison if Davis approves a plea agreement that would send him back to prison for the second time for committing widespread fraud.
The Twin Cities man, who was also known as Michael J. Crosby for more than 30 years, was convicted in 1993 of fraud when he worked as a rare coins dealer.
Krzyzaniak told Judge Davis that he'd been under the care of a psychologist since about a year ago, undergoing counseling sessions "to evaluate my decisionmaking powers."
Investors described Krzyzaniak, whom they knew as Crosby, as a grand personality who lived large, traveling in chartered jets, driving a $130,000 Mercedes-Benz and relaxing at a California beach house he rented. He neglected to tell investors about his previous mail fraud conviction, or that his business projects' environmental issues might block his grand plans, the government alleged.
On Tuesday, Krzyzaniak admitted he told investors that their money would be funneled into particular projects, and that they could expect a substantial investment return. Then, authorities said, he would describe how each project was proceeding toward a successful conclusion, having secured appropriate approval from appropriate regulatory agencies, according to authorities. It was all false.
