Two Broadcasters Sentenced for Fraud

Joel Hixon

Joel Hixon, of Las Cruces, NM and his business partner Dain Schult, of Austin, Texas, have been sentenced to prison for defrauding New Mexico investors in a scheme that promised to use investors’ money to promote “mom and pop” radio stations on the internet.

According to lcsun-news.com, Schult was sentenced to four years, and Hixon was sentenced to 18 months. Both men were ordered to make restitution in the amount of $25,000.

Schult and Hixon were convicted of fraud over $20,000, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, sale of an unregistered security, and sale of security by an unlicensed agent.

Hixon, a well-known morning show DJ, has hosted programs on KVLC 101 Gold and KGRT 103.9 FM. Dain Schult was an on-air talent at the former WQXI-FM (now WSTR 94.1 FM) in Atlanta during the 1970s

Dain Schult

Schult used his companies — American Radio Empire, Inc. and American Wireless and Entertainment, Inc. — to recruit local individuals like Hixon, who had experience in the radio industry, in order to solicit investments from unsuspecting friends, and to entice them with illusory offers of future employment.

Schult and Hixon led investors to believe that the money they raised was being used to pay for services aimed at funding an initial public offering of Schult’s company. Additionally, Schult and Hixon told investors that the money from the sale of promissory notes would be used to purchase smaller radio stations around the United States and put them on the internet, investigators say.

Some of the investors targeted included well-known Atlanta radio personalities. Mike Rose, who served as a program director and producer in the market, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he gave Schult $4,000 over the course of three years. In return, he was promised a potential job and an equity stake in the company.