Colorado’s investor-fraud fighting agency investigated 77 new cases, spurred nine criminal indictments and ordered “bad actors” to pay $33 million in damages and restitution, according to the Division of Securities at the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies .
The report highlights on case in particular. Wheat Ridge resident for running a Ponzi scheme and bilking 28 investors out of $4.4 million.
The division, which licenses more than 200,000 securities industry professionals, is the examination and enforcement arm of the DORA. More than half of its cases during the year targeted “at-risk” victims, which means they were over the age of 60, Gerald Rome, Colorado’s securities commissioner said.
Other highlights from the agency’s 2015 to 2016 fiscal year included:
- 77 new investigations
- 71 enforcement actions
- 17 civil cases
- $33 million awarded in damages
- 21 administrative sanctions
- 9 criminal indictments
- 28 years in prison sentence
- $5.5 million ordered in restitution
