Ponzi Scheme Series: Federal Prosecutors Charge Santa Ana Investment Adviser with Operating a Ponzi Scheme

According to the Associated Press, Federal prosecutors have charged a Southern California investment adviser on charges he bilked elderly residents in a $6 million Ponzi scheme.

Richard H. Nickles, the owner of Innovative Advisory Services in Santa Ana, was charged late Thursday with four counts of mail fraud and two counts of securities fraud. The 57-year-old Irvine man, who has been in jail since his July 9 arrest, will be arraigned Monday.

U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman Thom Mrozek says Nickles ran newspaper advertisements in Orange and Los Angeles counties promoting safe, government guaranteed low-risk bonds. Nickles issued confirmations through a registered broker for which he had once worked, but which had no dealings with him or his company at the time, according to the SEC. Those confirmations gave investors the false impression that he was associated with a legitimate broker and that their investments were insured, according to the complaint. Nickles would use the investments – of $50,000 minimum – to pay off other investors or purchase other securities not authorized by the investors, according to the complaint. Investigators estimate victims lost more than $6 million.

“Virtually each and every day, government regulators shut down a securities fraud operation. Once again, this scam preyed upon elderly investors. That’s precisely why Wittenberg Law has designed an affordable investment scam protection program — to protect average investors, including retirees, widows, and the elderly,” stated Jeffrey Wittenberg, Esq.

Contact Jeffrey Wittenberg at 877-352-2010 to inquire in the investment scam protection program.