A Pennsylvania advisor affiliated with a Massachusetts-based broker-dealer has been indicted on charges that she orchestrated a multi-million dollar investment fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts announced Thursday.
Patricia S. Miller, 67, of McMurray, Pa., was charged with five counts of wire fraud. She is charged with orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme that victims’ attorneys say may date back to the mid-1990s and may involve numerous victims.
The indictment alleges that Miller used her position as a trusted financial advisor, as well as her association with Investors Capital Corp., a broker-dealer based in Lynnfield, Mass., to obtain money from clients for investments never made on the behalf of clients.
Miller promised high returns if clients put their money into investment clubs called, among other things, KS Investments and Buckharbor. She said that funds put into her investment clubs would be placed in fixed-income notes and other investments. Miller was able to obtain more than $2.5 million from more than 20 clients for these purported investment clubs. Instead of investing the money, she misappropriated client funds for her own use, the indictment says.
An attorney for Investors Capital says Miller was identified as a rogue advisor and the firm, which reported her to the U.S. Attorney, is conducting its own investigation.
Some victims have been notified through the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office. Others who think they might be victims have been asked to contact either [email protected] or the Pittsburgh area victims witness office at (412) 644-3500 or http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/.