Wisconsin man sentenced to eight years in federal prison in fraud and money laundering case with early roots in Allamakee County

Stanley Pophal, 64, of Wausau, WI, was sentenced Wednesday, September 2 in U.S. District Court by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 96 months (eight years) in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering. The sentence follows a comprehensive, multi-agency investigation into a scheme that defrauded 190 investors out of $14.25 million. Pophal pleaded guilty to the charges June 12 of this year. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14.25 million.

“The successful resolution of this case underscores the vital cooperation among state, local, and federal authorities,” stated Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen. “We extend our sincere gratitude to the Allamakee County Attorney’s Office, the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office. Their early collaboration with our Fraud Bureau was instrumental in identifying and halting this fraudulent activity.”

An initial investment meeting staged in February 2025 in Allamakee County by undercover Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau officials played a key role into the further investigation into unauthorized investment meetings conducted by Pophal across Allamakee, Winneshiek, Mitchell, Wapello, Clayton, and Madison counties in the state of Iowa. As a result of that further investigation, Pophal and four co-defendants who were all siblings in an Allamakee County family were charged with Class D felony counts for selling unregistered securities under Iowa law.

Once a federal criminal complaint was unsealed in late spring 2025 in the Western District of Wisconsin charging Pophal with wire fraud and money laundering, those federal charges were filed and the local and state charges against Pophal and his co-defendants were all dismissed to allow the federal prosecution to move forward.

In addition to its local Iowa partners, the Iowa Insurance Division recognizes the extensive collaborative efforts of agencies that included federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies, such as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin law enforcement agencies, such as the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office and the Wausau Police Department.

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