A federal grand jury has charged Jonathan Neal Leber, a purported financial advisor in Barren County, Kentucky, with defrauding Kentucky and Indiana investors out of approximately $2.4 million. According to the federal indictment, Leber used false pretenses, false representations, and false promises to persuade clients of his financial advisement company, Intrepid Financial Strategies, Inc., to entrust him with their money.
From Aug. 2007 to Jan. 2011, Leber allegedly promised his clients that he would invest their funds in a variety of securities, including bonds, tax lien certificates, stocks, annuities, and a Styrofoam recycling business. He also allegedly told his IRA clients that he could reinvest their retirement money in qualified “rollover” investment accounts that would pay higher rates of return than the accounts they already had.
According to the indictment, however, Leber never intended to invest his clients’ funds in any of the ways he represented. Instead, he allegedly planned to steal their money and use it for his personal purposes. Prosecutors say investors were defrauded out of more than $2 million in his investment scheme. Additionally, though he allegedly represented himself as a financial advisor, FINRA has no record of Leber or his company (as of 6/22/12).
Leber pled guilty to similar fraud charges in a Kentucky circuit court in March. As part of his state plea, he admitted to lying to clients about his background and experience. His sentencing date is scheduled for later this month. If convicted on the new charges, he could face up to 20 years in a federal prison, plus a $500,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
