Head of Investment Firm Enters Not Guilty Plea

Morris D. English Jr., president of a now-bankrupt Torrance investment firm that is the object of federal and state fraud investigations, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in South Bay Municipal Court to charges of grand theft and writing bad checks.

English, 50, is president of the Wellington Group, which is being investigated by the state Department of Corporations, the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI for alleged securities fraud. Investigators examining the company say it may owe up to $50 million in investments to as many as 1,500 people from San Jose to San Diego.

About two dozen investors attended English’s arraignment on one count of grand theft and seven counts of intentionally writing bad checks. When English’s attorney said his client still plans to repay all investors, many of them laughed.