Colorado securities division returned $2.1M to fraud victims since 2013

DENVER — Investors who were victims of investment fraud in Colorado received a $2,151,875 in restitution over the past two years, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies’ Division of Securities announced on Wednesday.

The division opened and completed 149 major fraud investigations in 2013 and 2014. These inquiries resulted in 17 felony criminal prosecutions, 31 civil cases, and approximately $18 million in court-ordered restitution.

“Our investigative team has done a tremendous job of uncovering and pursuing an ever-more complicated and far-reaching range of frauds and investment scams,” said Gerald Rome, Colorado’s securities commissioner. “I believe our numbers show that their work has paid off for Colorado’s investors.”

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Cases of note include the 2013 prosecution and conviction of Gregory Russell who, along with multiple partners, operated a Ponzi scheme that robbed unsuspecting investors out of $3.8 million. Russell, who was prosecuted by the Denver District Attorney’s Office, has been ordered to pay the full amount in restitution, and is currently serving 18 years in prison.

A 2014 civil action brought by the division against Leland Energy Inc., which purportedly sold fraudulent oil and gas securities through an unlicensed solicitor, was ordered to pay a total of $700,000 to victims over seven years. To date, $100,000 of that amount has been returned.