With a small crowd of his victims watching, John Knox Bridges on Thursday pleaded guilty to federal charges that he defrauded friends and investors.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Bridges likely will be sentenced to more than four years for fraudulently obtaining more than $2.3 million from individuals and charitable groups.
Among those who watched Bridges plead guilty Thursday morning was 76-year-old Jo Ann Jones. A former friend and neighbor of Bridges, she said she was among those taken in.
About three years ago, she said, Bridges knocked on the door of her home in northeast Charlotte with a story that tugged at her heart: He said someone had hacked into his computer and stolen his identity - along with virtually all of his money. He said he needed $600,000 to keep his business afloat, Jones recalled.
"He was sitting at the kitchen table just bawling," Jones said.
After checking with relatives who also knew Bridges well, Jones agreed to lend $300,000.
Under his plea deal with the federal government, Bridges has agreed to repay his victims. But Jones says she has no hope she'll get any of her money back.
"It ruined my outlook on people you thought you could trust," Jones said.
At the hearing, U.S. Magistrate David Keesler asked Bridges if he was guilty of securities fraud and money laundering. Wearing a blazer, a blue dress shirt and a red tie, Bridges quietly responded: "Yes, sir."
Asked by the judge if he wanted to make any statements, Bridges said, "No, sir." He and his attorney also declined to talk with an Observer reporter.
Bridges, now 51, falsely told several people he would invest their money in a Texas oil company, but instead used the money for travel and personal expenses, according to the federal indictment.
In 2009, the Observer reported on allegations that Bridges made off with money from N.C. fresco artist Ben Long, the Minnesota-based Lindbergh Foundation and the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer.
He had previously told friends and associates that he came from a family worth billions. Bridges said he owned a corporate jet, socialized with world leaders, and served on the boards of prestigious groups, including New York's Guggenheim Museum.
But much of what Bridges said about himself didn't appear to be true, the Observer's investigation found.
In August, Bridges shot himself in the torso at his home in Salisbury after police responded to a report that he was suicidal. A grand jury indicted him soon after he was released from the hospital.
Bridges could face between 57 and 71 months in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines. Authorities will seek a sentence on the "low end" of the guidelines, the plea agreement says. It likely will be more than six months before he is sentenced.
He's now out on bond.
