Three men have been indicted on securities-fraud charges stemming from a $5.7 million scheme that allegedly took in at least 70 metro-area investors, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced Wednesday.
The men — Phillip Trujillo, 60, of Loveland, and David Piatt, 40, and Timothy Burk, 48, both of Glendale — are accused of promising investors generous risk-free returns, some up to 240 percent annually, without letting them know how their money would be invested.
In many cases, the funds were used for unsecured loans to companies that later defaulted on them, according to the seven-count indictment. Additionally, the men used the investments to cover their own salaries despite investor agreements that said compensation would be derived from returns, according to the indictment.
The criminal cases are being handled in Larimer County District Court. If convicted, Trujillo faces up to 84 years in prison and more than $26,000 in fines. Piatt and Burk each face up to 36 years in prison and more than $11,000 in fines.
Trujillo, who is licensed to sell securities in 30 states and a working investment adviser in Colorado, used his companies — Wealth Management Resources LLC and Trujillo Investments LLC — to run the scheme in 2008, the indictment says. He also is president of Private Wealth Counseling.
Trujillo allegedly created three investment vehicles — PTV 22, PTV 33 and PTV 44 — to invest in a variety of legitimate securities but instead used the funds to make the loans, including to companies he owned and to himself.
Piatt and Burk, licensed in Colorado to sell insurance but not securities, created Global Commerce Unlimited LLC to funnel investor funds to the Trujillo accounts. The duo hosted dinners and seminars to lure clients, according to the indictment.
Then, in 2009, Trujillo allegedly defied a federal court order that forbade him from selling securities. The Colorado indictment says Trujillo continued to gather investors, in part to pay off funds promised to earlier investors, a classic Ponzi scheme.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
