Indictments Allege $1-Million Fraud
Two Orange County men were indicted Friday on charges they bilked investors of more than $1 million by claiming to purchase foreign investments in crude oil, a German bank and other ventures.
Robert J. Cooper, 45, of Santa Ana, and James R. Halstead, 35, whose address is unknown, are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on 34 counts of securities fraud and unlawful sales of securities, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan McNerney. The men are currently being held in the Orange County Jail, he said.
Cooper and Halstead are not licensed to sell securities, and Cooper has previously been banned from selling securities by the state Department of Corporations, McNerney said.
The men are accused of collecting more than $1 million from people who wrongly believed they were investing in crude oil, a German bank and currency, officials said. Investors were never repaid.
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