Wymer Accepts Ban From Investment Deals : Order: Newport Beach adviser accused of defrauding governments of more than $100 million agrees to curbs without admitting guilt.

Indicted investment adviser Steven D. Wymer, who is accused of defrauding local governments of more than $100 million, has consented to a federal order that bars him from the industry permanently, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday.

The SEC said the Newport Beach resident agreed, as expected, to the administrative order without admitting or denying guilt. The order, which became effective Tuesday, bars him from associating with any broker, dealer, investment company, investment adviser or municipal securities dealer.

The order stems from an administrative action brought June 9 by the SEC, which also filed a civil lawsuit against Wymer. The lawsuit was settled recently, and a court hearing early next year will determine how much Wymer owes in repayments or penalties to the SEC, said Michael F. Perlis, one of his attorneys.

“There’s not going to be anything left for anyone else after that,” Perlis said, referring to civil lawsuits that investors have filed against Wymer. “But the SEC has said its intention is to use the money for the benefit of customers who claim to have been defrauded.”

The SEC alleged in its administrative action that Wymer managed $1.2 billion in investments for 64 clients. Investigators are not certain, however, that he had that much money under his control.

Among those allegedly defrauded were the cities of Orange, Torrance, La Quinta and Palm Desert. Orange wrote off $7 million, calling it a potential loss.

Wymer, 43, is free on a $500,000 surety bond while awaiting trial in September on a 30-count federal indictment charging him with securities fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and lying to the SEC.

He is practically under house arrest because an electronic ankle bracelet he must wear monitors his movements, his attorney said.

Meanwhile, a special team of SEC investigators has been auditing Wymer’s tangled financial records in a bid to determine how much money is actually missing and where it went.

“We are continuing to investigate whether or not action against any others is appropriate,” said Elaine Cacheris, the SEC regional administrator in Los Angeles. “We are attempting to locate assets belonging to Wymer. And we would obviously look into funds that may have been transferred to others improperly.”

Times staff writer Sonni Efron contributed to this report.