State Bars Sales of Investments by Couple

California regulators said Tuesday that they had barred sales of investments by a couple who allegedly had defrauded fellow members of African American churches since at least November 2000.

The state Department of Corporations issued a cease-and-desist order dated Monday against Phoebus Vincent Smith and his estranged wife, Saundra.

John Williamson, the Smiths’ Simi Valley attorney, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Det. David Lingscheit, who is conducting a criminal investigation into the alleged scam, couldn’t be reached for comment.

California Corporations Commissioner William P. Wood accused the Smiths of selling unregistered securities and of misleading investors about their scheme.

The Smiths claimed to be able to double investors’ money in two or three months in deals for Viagra and other drugs, precious metals, auto loans and real estate, but in reality were using money from new investors to pay old ones, Wood said.

The order said the Smiths, calling themselves the Cash Flow Creators, targeted fellow members of the First Lutheran Church in Carson beginning in late 2000.

Operating in the high desert as Antelope Valley Banking System and Mr. V & S Investments, they allegedly raised money from sources such as the Christian Fellowship Church in Lancaster, and, through agents, from Ventura County day laborers and Filipino Americans in Orange County and Sacramento.

Smith, who has filed to divorce his wife, “is currently operating his scheme” in Ridgecrest under the names Rich Men’s Club, Women of Power, and Prosperity Enterprises One, the Department of Corporations alleged.