Multiple counts of theft and securities fraud have been returned by the state grand jury against two men who allegedly scammed investors out of money they thought was being used to finance construction of homes in Colorado Springs and a high-tech business campus in Larkspur.
Indicted were Derek Roy Kent, 63, and Adam Kelepolo, 36.
Kent is described by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office as a financial adviser who at one time worked for AIG Financial Advisors.
Kelepolo is described as a construction executive, the president and CEO of Lion Gate Homes.
According to the indictment, Kent and Kelepolo raised more than $458,000 from 32 investors for a variety of projects, including a purported effort by Lion Gate to develop homes in the Broadmoor Bluffs area of Colorado Springs.
In addition, Lion Gate became involved in a project known as the Larkspur Railyard Land, a proposed high-tech business campus in Larkspur.
According to the indictment, Kelepolo used much of the money for restaurant and gambling expenses at casinos in Cripple Creek, including the Black Diamond Casino, the Double Eagle Casino and the Midnight Rose Casino.
Kent and Kelepolo also are accused by the grand jury of using investors’ funds to make loan payments to Vectra Bank.
The indictment alleges that only minimal amounts of the capital that the men raised were actually invested in the projects they pitched.
Investigators allege that Kent found several of the alleged victims through AIG Financial Advisors, where he worked starting in October 2005.
The Attorney General’s Office will prosecute Kent and Kelepolo in Douglas County District Court.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
