A 52-year-old Rockville man previously convicted of numerous con deals has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, saying in a plea deal with the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office that he swindled affluent art investors in Maryland out of more than $1 million over the course of four years.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Thomas Hugh Akins also agreed to pay $1.2 million in restitution to the Marylanders he victimized between 2002 and April 2006.

Officials said Akins owned and operated the Thomas H. Akins Company Inc., an art sales gallery in Ellicott City. During the four years in question, he reportedly convinced wealthy investors to give him large dollar sums for an art-investment program with a 24 percent rate of return.

Instead of investing the money, as he told the clients he would, Akins misappropriated the funds and spent it on himself, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

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“As is often the case with investment schemes that sound too good to be true, Mr. Akins’ investment scheme was too good to be true,” U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

Akins faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence followed by five years of supervised release for his role in the scheme. He is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 6.

Akins also had previous troubles with law enforcement. According to U.S. District Court records, federal agents told a West Virginia judge that in 1993 that Akins conned businesses, individuals and relatives — including his own parents — out of $1 million.

Akins eventually pleaded guilty to numerous counts of wire and bank fraud as well as writing bad checks.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com