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(Danville, IN) - As a result of a partnership between Indiana Secretary
of State Todd Rokita and Hendricks County Prosecutor Patricia Baldwin,
Indianapolis resident Jason Keigley has been found guilty in Hendricks
County Superior Court of swindling money from seniors through a
fraudulent investment and mortgage scheme.

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita and Hendricks County Prosecutor
Patricia Baldwin joined forces to file criminal charges and pursue
prosecution of Keigley for violations of the Indiana Securities Act and
Indiana Loan Broker Act. Charles Williams of Rokita’s Prosecution
Assistance Unit and Hendricks County Deputy Prosecutors Rhett Stuard conducted
the investigation. Tyler Starkey presented the State’s case at trial. A
jury found Keigley guilty on all four counts.

Keigley was convicted of the following charges: the offer or sale of an
unregistered security, transacting business as an unregistered Broker
Dealer, and fraud in connection with the offer or sale of a security,
all class C felonies. Keigley was also found guilty of loan broker
fraud, a class D felony.

Sentencing was initially set by the Court for March 17. Keigley faces a
maximum sentence of eight to 13 years for all charges.

“Hoosiers simply will not tolerate mortgage fraud in our state,” Rokita
said. “Indiana can reverse the ill effects of mortgage fraud by
educating and protecting home buyers from this type of damaging, criminal
activity. Every home buyer has a duty to do their homework, and my office
provides a variety of valuable investment and mortgage information
resources.”

Prosecutor Baldwin agreed with Rokita and echoed his sentiments.

“In Hendricks County, we take it seriously when unscrupulous people
attempt to defraud innocent citizens, and we will continue to vigorously
prosecute those cases,” Baldwin said.

Keigley worked as a loan originator for an Indiana mortgage company in
2004, and during his employment, he also operated his own business, 1st
Place Mortgage. The Secretary of State’s office found that Keigley
convinced a Hendricks County couple to invest in his company which,
unbeknownst to them, was an unregistered security. He also told them their
investment was in an interest-bearing account, available to them upon
request, while at the same time establishing a reverse mortgage for the
couple. Some time after Keigley brokered the reverse mortgage loan and
the couple had bought Keigley’s investment, the couple requested their
investment funds and only a small portion was returned.

No account has ever been located and Keigley could not account for any
of the missing funds. In addition, the victims were hit with
foreclosure on their home as a result of Keigley’s failure to fulfill the
obligations of the reverse mortgage. Investigator Charles Williams was able to
save the couple’s home from foreclosure through his investigative
efforts.

“Our Securities division is charged with protecting investors,” said
Chris Naylor, Indiana’s Securities Commissioner. “We believe a two tiered
approach can help prevent future cases of fraud. Educating Hoosiers
about prudent investing and mortgage practices coupled with bringing
enforcement actions and criminal prosecutions against companies and
individuals engaged in fraud are powerful tools to protect our citizens. This
will ultimately restore consumer confidence and promote business
development.”

The Secretary of State’s Prosecution Assistance Unit (PAU) initiated
this investigation and worked with Prosecutor Baldwin to file charges and
prosecute Keigley. Rokita created the PAU in 2004 to facilitate local
law enforcement’s prosecution of alleged Securities Act and Loan Broker
Act violations by creating a stronger partnership between the
Statehouse and county courthouses. Since its inception, the PAU has helped law
enforcement throughout the state file charges in 27 high-profile
investment fraud cases, earning a 26 to 1 conviction-to-dismissal record and
obtaining more than 200 years of sentenced jail time for white collar
criminals.

If you feel you have been the victim of investment fraud of any kind,
please contact the Secretary of State’s office at 800-223-8791.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 10:41 am and is filed under Press Release. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.