A trio of fraudsters, including a man from the suburbs of Chicago, has been slammed with federal charges for allegedly tricking investors out of a whopping $3.9 million, officials said. The accused, identified as Edward L. Wooten, 51, of Macon, Ga., Lee S. Rose, 82, of Deerfield, Ill., and John L. Krcil, 55, of Hanover, Minn., supposedly ran a deceptive operation through their Wyoming-based company, Black Lion Investment Partners Inc., peddling phony private placement trading programs with the promise of hefty returns.
These financial rascals allegedly played to make investors believe their cash would be multiplied through trades in "investment grade fixed income securities" from "top-rated" banks. The group claimed these trading programs could quickly turn over multi-million-dollar profits and that if their plans tanked, investors would see their money back within sixty days, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois.
But, instead of the promised trading, the indictment alleges the money was funneled into their own pockets. The scheme caused six investors, including an Oklahoma children's charity, to suffer losses totaling about $3.9 million. The charges against the men include wire fraud and interstate transfer of money taken by fraud. Additionally, Wooten and Rose face money laundering charges, and false statement counts are on the books for both, with Wooten also accused of lying to the FBI and Rose to a federal judge and the SEC.
The serious charges were brought forward by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert W. "Wes" Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI – as stated in an announcement that credits the SEC for their valuable help. These charges are a stark reminder, as the government stated, that an indictment should not be misread as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial, wherein the government has to prove guilt beyond any reasonable doubt, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois.
