A former California man now living in Barnstable has been arrested and is being held in federal custody, charged with operating a long-running Ponzi scheme.
John Bryan Murphy, 44, has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering. He was charged on November 30 by a federal grand jury in San Francisco. Authorities allege that between 2012 and 2017, Murphy took money from numerous people and claimed their investments would be invested professionally. Investigators say Murphy stole $700,000, using the money to support his lifestyle, speculate on the stock market, as well as repay some victims a portion of their money to keep them from going to authorities.