SEC Bans Convicted Swindler for Life

The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred convicted swindler William E. Cooper from the securities industry for life for his role in bilking investors of $136 million in the First Pension Corp. scandal.

The commission said that Cooper did not respond to accusations that he defrauded investors in 239 real estate limited partnerships by failing to tell them that critical documents didn’t exist and that funds they paid to his Vestcorp Securities Inc. had been diverted to First Pension, an Irvine pension administrator.

“While the SEC’s action comes late in 1995 for a scheme that fell apart in early 1994, it’s still a positive step for investor protection,” said Walter C. Chung, a San Diego lawyer for investors who have sued to recoup losses.

Cooper admitted that he used his Irvine firms to swindle investors for a dozen years in a Ponzi scheme, which pays back earlier investors with money raised from later ones.

A federal judge sentenced the former Villa Park resident last February to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay $73 million in restitution.