Three people have been indicted by a state grand jury, accused of bilking 36 investors out of $2.5 million through a variety of real estate and foreign currency schemes.
Spearheading the alleged scams was Raymond P. Morris, 48, of Denver, the grand jury said. Assisting him, according to the indictment, were his ex-wife, Janet Morris, 49, of Douglas County and Gregory C. Erpelding, 51, of Jefferson County.
“These defendants are accused of defrauding Coloradans out of millions of their hard-earned dollars,” Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Tuesday.
“This indictment sends a message to would-be criminals that we will not tolerate fraudulent investment schemes,” he said.
All three are accused of securities fraud and theft. Raymond Morris, who faces 141 felony counts, was also charged with forgery and offering false documents for recording. He is being held on $250,000 bail.
The indictment said that Raymond Morris, who was arrested Monday night, defrauded investors in several ways.
Among the schemes was one in which Morris allegedly promised lots in a parcel of land he didn’t own, in an area he claimed to be developing for residential use known as the “Cherry Creek Land Development.”
Morris failed to develop the land and investors didn’t receive title to the property they had paid for, the indictment said.
Morris also solicited and accepted investor money to trade in the foreign currency market, the indictment said. Much of this trading was done through a commodity merchant called “Forex Capital Markets” through accounts in Morris’ own name, or through accounts that he helped others open with Forex, officials said.
The indictment said that Morris acted as a “trading agent” for the investors while falsely claiming he worked for Forex and often had a limited power of attorney to trade their funds.
“Morris made all the trading decisions and often touted his religion, as well as his experience and success in foreign currency trading during his solicitation of prospective investors,” the indictment said.
The grand jury said Raymond Morris failed to disclose that in 1991, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission barred him from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, investment company or municipal securities dealer.
Morris also never told investors about his personal and business financial history, including unsatisfied civil judgments against him in Denver and Douglas County courts and his personal bankruptcy, the grand jury said.
Janet Morris was charged with 17 felony counts and was released Tuesday on $20,000 bail.
Erpelding was charged with nine counts and was released Tuesday on $40,000 bail.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
