TRENTON, N.J. — A former college and financial planner from Clinton has admitted running a Ponzi scheme for more than a decade that left at least 65 investors with losses topping $9.7 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said.
Paul Beers, 67, pleaded guilty Oct. 29 before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in federal court in Trenton to a one-count information charging him with wire fraud.
From about January 2015 through November 2025, Beers owned and operated KJM Financial in Bedminster, a business that offered college planning and consulting as well as financial planning services, according to court documents and statements made in court.
During that time, Beers took in more than $11 million from at least 65 people who were promised their money would be placed in various financial accounts, including guaranteed income contracts, prosecutors said.
Instead, Beers diverted the money to pay his own business and personal expenses and to repay some investors, which kept the scheme going and helped him avoid detection, according to the court record.
At times, he gave investors phony quarterly and other reports showing gains on the money they had entrusted to him, prosecutors said. The scheme collapsed in November 2025.
“The defendant turned a position of trust into an instrument of fraud, preying on community members who believed their money was being invested for their families’ future,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said. “He misappropriated $11 million and used false quarterly reports to conceal his scheme, leaving victims with losses exceeding $9.7 million. Those who exploit the trust of their own community for personal gain will be held accountable.”
“Beers did more than steal money — he stole trust, security, and years of financial planning from hardworking families,” said Stefanie Roddy, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark office. “History is littered with fraudsters who seem to forget the simple principle that Ponzi schemes always fall apart.”
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross loss to the victims or gain to the defendant, whichever is greatest. Beers’ plea agreement requires him to pay restitution to his victims.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2027.
The FBI’s Newark office investigated the case, with assistance from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bedminster Township Police Department. The FBI investigation is ongoing, and anyone who believes they may be a victim of Beers can report it to NK-Victim-Assistance@FBI.GOV.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick is prosecuting the case. Beers is represented by attorney Michael Baldassare of Baldassare & Mara LLC.
This report is based on information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office press release
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