Talk Show Host Scam Artist, Prosecution Says : Trial: R.G. Reynolds is accused of persuading listeners to invest $1.3 million in a phony pool account. Defense says the prosecution has ‘thrown a lot of mud’ as case goes to the jury.

The weeklong fraud trial of popular talk show host R.G. Reynolds came to a close in federal court here Wednesday, with prosecutors arguing that the self-proclaimed financial expert ran a scam that “preyed on the little guy.”

The 12-person jury was still deliberating late Wednesday evening.

Reynolds, 44, is charged with 13 counts of mail fraud in connection with an investment program that he ran through R.G. Reynolds Enterprises, a defunct Burbank company. He is also charged with two counts of witness tampering. If convicted on all charges, Reynolds faces up to about 65 years in prison.

Reynolds runs a Laguna Niguel company, Flow-Ventures.

Between 1985 and 1987, prosecutors allege, Reynolds persuaded listeners to his radio and television talk shows to invest $1.3 million in his “managed account” blind pool investment program, promising returns of 48% to 1,000%.

Reynolds would then send investors phony account statements saying they were earning high returns, when he had actually spent most of the investment funds on business and personal expenses, prosecutors charged. Many people are still trying to get their original investments back, they said.

The investment program was “a scam,” said special assistant U.S. Atty. Peter Morris. “He never intended to pay the managed account people back.”

The two witness-tampering charges involved taped phone conversations during which Reynolds allegedly urged an investor to destroy a telegram referring to a nonexistent Swiss bank account.

Defense attorney Michael Balaban countered that the prosecution had “thrown a lot of mud” at Reynolds and had played excerpts of Reynolds’ shows to the jury out of context, creating the appearance that Reynolds had made false promises.

A former Florida insurance salesman with no formal education, Reynolds moved to California in the early 1980s and began buying time on local radio and TV stations.