Two men and a woman were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday for defrauding at least 70 investors out of nearly $6 million and using the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including $1 million for Las Vegas call girls.

The SEC alleges that Geoffrey H. Lunn, 56, of Sheridan, Colo., a self-described money manager, operated the $5.77 million investment scheme with assistance from Darlene A. Bishop, 40, of Odessa, Texas, and Vincent G. Curry, 42, of Las Vegas. Lunn portrayed himself as the vice president of Dresdner Financial, a fictitious firm that claimed it was connected with Dresdner Bank, formerly one of Germany's largest banks, and planned to purchase several other banks to expand its operations.

The SEC claims that Lunn, Bishop, and Curry solicited investors throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries for their ".44 Magnum Leveraged Financing Program" that they promised could turn a $44,000 investment into $2 million within 10 to 12 banking days.

The SEC alleges that Lunn quickly withdrew investor money in cash and Western Union transfers, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bishop and Curry, and gave nearly a million dollars to three Las Vegas call girls.

According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Denver, Lunn, Bishop and Curry, between February 2010 and February 2011, told investors that Dresdner offered 100 percent guaranteed rates of return through the lease and monetization of bank instruments. Curry and Bishop marketed the program directly to potential investors through phone calls, e-mails and other communications, while Lunn held conference calls with marketers and investors to explain the workings of the program.

The SEC says Lunn admitted in sworn testimony during their investigation that his investment plan "was a con, basically." Lunn admitted that he didn't lease any bank instruments, obtain any insurance wraps, monetize any bank instruments, nor place any money into trading platforms as represented to investors, according to the SEC. When Lunn and his partners were unable to repay investors, they repeatedly postponed the payout dates and claimed the delays were due to holds placed by banks or the government, according to the SEC.

In October 2010, Lunn began making payments to three women he met in Las Vegas whom he described as "call girls," the SEC said. Lunn testified that he gave at least $848,500 to the three women so that they could have "a better type of life," the SEC said.

In November 2010, Lunn used investor money to make a $1 million Ponzi-like payment to a favored investor who he thought "was a deserving person," the SEC said. Lunn paid $1.3 million to marketers of the scheme, including more than $650,000 to Bishop and Curry, and used the remaining investor funds to pay for his personal and business expenses, the SEC said.

The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, forfeiture of any ill-gotten gains by the three suspects with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.

-Jim McConville