Wymer Attorney Says Plea Bargain Is Probable : Courts: Newport investment adviser is to go on trial Sept. 15 for allegedly misappropriating $113 million.

An attorney for Newport Beach investment adviser Steven D. Wymer, who allegedly made off with as much as $113 million in investors’ money, said Tuesday that his client and prosecutors are close to a plea agreement.

“The parties are certainly working toward that,” said attorney Mark S. Roberts of Fullerton, who is also a friend of Wymer.

Roberts and federal prosecutors said Tuesday that a trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles is scheduled to begin Sept. 15.

Wymer, 44, once a successful money manager who held $1.2 billion for 65 private and public investors through two companies he owned, is charged on 30 felony counts of securities fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and other federal charges.

Since his arrest Dec. 17 and subsequent release on bail of $600,000, Wymer has been wearing an electronic surveillance device on his ankle.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorneys have said that much of the missing money was lost in bad investments.

In a published report Tuesday, another of Wymer’s attorneys stated that his client would plead guilty to the charges and accept sentencing by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois Jr. If tried and convicted, Wymer could get up to 275 years in prison and be forced to pay up to $140 million in fines.

The attorney, Jim Riddet, did not return phone calls Tuesday to confirm his earlier statements.

Roberts and U.S. Atty. James R. Asperger, who is heading the prosecution, said Tuesday that no plea agreement has been signed.

Asperger declined to comment further.

But Wymer and his attorneys have been discussing the case with prosecutors in an effort to reach a plea bargain, Roberts said. He would not discuss any details surrounding the negotiations.

As owner of Institutional Treasury Management in Newport Beach and Denman & Co. of Irvine, Wymer is accused, among other things, of diverting clients’ money from accounts in a financial shell game and falsifying documents to show that the money was still intact.

Among victims were the California cities of Orange, Palm Desert, Torrance, Big Bear Lake, Grand Terrace, Indio, La Quinta, Loma Linda, Sanger and Beaumont.

Federal authorities also later seized up to $15 million in property belonging to Wymer, including a million-dollar home in Newport Beach, a 1991 Ferrari, a 1986 Mercedes-Benz, three powerboats, and various other real estate properties in Newport Beach, Sun Valley, New York City, Idaho and Florida.