Minocqua man sentenced to serve 80 months in federal prison, pay over $800K in restitution

Cory Kromray, a 39-year-old Minocqua man who was indicted in federal court, was sentenced last week on Feb. 5 to serve 80 months behind bars, three years probation and pay over $800,000 in restitution.

Kromray was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin on May 14, 2025, in Madison after he was alleged to accept money from investors and promised to use those funds to trade stocks, mutual funds, cryptocurrency and foreign currency exchange for their benefit.

However, Kromray didn’t invest that money and used most of it for personal benefit, which included purchasing a Lamborghini.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Wisconsin announced Kromray’s sentence in a press release on Feb. 6. 

U.S. District Judge William M Conley was who sentenced Kromray to the six years, eight months in federal prison after Kromray pleaded guilty to the charges on Nov. 7, 2025, as well as being ordered to pay $828,266 in restitution to the victims. 

United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin Chadwick M. Elgersma made a statement following the sentencing hearing, which was quoted in the press release. 

“I applaud the investigative work of the agents in this case,” Elgersma said. “Fraud schemes like this one are devastating to victims. The sentence sends a strong message that this office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who defraud others.”

Kromray’s allegations were investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner was the prosecuting attorney. 

The investigation, according to the press release, showed Kromray “used social media and other online communications to falsely portray himself as a successful trader in stocks, mutual funds, cryptocurrency, and the foreign currency exchange market (forex).”

Kromray would post on social media showing images or references to expensive watches, a large home, tropical vacations and exotic sports cars, all of which he purported himself to acquire from being a successful trader, according to the press release. 

“During meetings with investors or potential investors, Kromray often bragged about his success as a trader and would often drive expensive vehicles to the meetings, including a 2022 Lamborghini Urus and a 2022 McLaren 720S,” the press release states. “Kromray would falsely claim that investors could expect a monthly rate of return of approximately 4% to 8%, with the potential of earning up to 30% a month. Kromray falsely told at least one investor that he was a top 1% trader in the Midwest. Kromray falsely told another investor that he could guarantee a 100% return on their investment.”

Kromray, according to the press release, would provide his investors with false information showing their investments were paying off, including fake account statements and investors’ supposed portfolio balances. 

“At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley stated that Kromray’s investment fraud scheme was ‘the worst kind of fraud that can be committed,’ because he took money from his close friends and lied to them about investing it,” the press release states. “Judge Conley noted that Kromray worked hard to dupe investors by portraying a ‘fantasy luxury life,’ including buying high-end cars like Lamborghinis and McLarens. Judge Conley noted that Kromray would often meet face-to-face with his investors and ‘flat out lie’ to them about ‘things that were demonstrably false’ and provide them with ‘pie in the sky promises.’ Judge Conley also noted that Kromray poses a substantial risk of reoffending when he is released from prison because his statements at sentencing sounded like he was still in denial about his crimes. Judge Conley concluded that ‘if there is a more heinous white-collar crime, I don’t know what it is.’

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].