Three individuals and their companies have been accused of violating the anti-fraud and licensing provisions of the Colorado Securities Act.
Colorado Banking and Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph alleged in complaint filed in Denver District Court that the individuals solicited investors to invest in a Pennsylvania hedge fund that was operated as a Ponzi scheme.
Joseph alleged that the defendants solicited investors and directed approximately $5.4 million of investor funds into Life’s Good Family of Funds .
Named in the complaint are Michael Philip McNamara, John Staiano, Jon Bradon Peterson, all of Denver, and their business entities, Brentwood Equity Advisors, LLC; Jomac, LLC, and Sierra Capital Resources, LLC, all of Denver.
Joseph said that the defendants solicited investors into a Ponzi scheme headed by Robert Stinson, Jr., and an individual with a criminal history and a “securities fraud recidivist”.
Joseph said that for his role in operating the Ponzi scheme, Stinson, of Berwyn, Pa., was sentenced on April 10, 2012, to 33 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $14 million in restitution.
The commissioner alleged that from 2007 until the Ponzi scheme was shut down in 2010, the Colorado defendants aggressively solicited investors for Life’s Good Family of Funds. He alleged they violated the registration, licensing and anti-fraud provisions of Colorado Securities Act.
The complaint seeks recovery of the funds the defendants allegedly got from the investors plus a permanent injunction barring future violations of the Colorado Securities Act.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com or twitter@HowardPankratz
