INDIANAPOLIS – A New Palestine man working as a financial adviser has been accused of bilking clients out of about $1.2 million they had entrusted him to invest.
Bruce Wayne Ford, 47, has been charged with eleven counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced in a news release.
“The financial investors in this case placed their hard-earned money into the hands of someone whom they thought they could trust, oftentimes the majority of their life savings,” Minkler said. “Instead, the victim’s money fell into the hands of a thief who cares about no one but himself and his interests. Justice will prevail and hopefully restore some trust back to the victims.”
Ford, was arrested at his home on Sept. 11 and appeared in federal court in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Through his company, Ford Financial and Insurance Services, he devised a scheme to defraud his investors by means of materially false statements and misrepresentations, the U.S. attorney alleges. Rather than invest his clients’ money as promised, Ford wired or transferred investor funds to Ford’s own accounts to use for personal expenditures.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who is prosecuting this case for the government, Ford faces up to 25 years in federal prison if convicted of the charges.
The investigation was undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indiana Secretary of State’s office, and the Greenfield Police Department.
This is a developing story, and it will be updated.
