Fraud Alert 243

******Alert #243******

Task Force member John Maron of the Securities Division, NC Secretary of State’s Office, shares the following development in an elder fraud case that arose in Lincoln County:

Guilty Plea Ends Lincoln County Securities Fraud Case

A Lincoln County securities fraud case ended on April 8, 2010, in Alamance County Superior Court with a guilty plea, following an investigation by the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Securities Division. George Allen Clark, 62, pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud and was sentenced to a minimum of 90 months in prison and a maximum of 117 months for defrauding an elderly investor of $200,000.

Superior Court Judge J.B. Allen, Jr. also ordered that Clark make restitution to his victim in the case. Clark falsely claimed to represent a legitimate marketing company, Word of Mouth Marketing, and represented to a victim in Lincoln County in December of 2006 that he would invest his money in that company. Clark instead converted the funds to his personal use. Clark lived in Raleigh at the time of the incident, but later relocated. US Marshals found him in Texas and brought him back to North Carolina to face charges in February of 2009. Secretary of State investigators charged Clark with one felony count of securities fraud, one felony count for the sale of unregistered securities, and one felony count for selling securities when he was not registered to sell securities. Those were consolidated into one Class C felony charge for sentencing purposes.

Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall appealed to potential investors to always use caution when considering an investment. “Mr. Clark drew his victim in with promises that he could double his money. But please remember if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Mr. Clark also was never registered with our Securities Division to sell securities in North Carolina. That is why it is so very important that anyone considering an investment first call our Securities Division at 1-800-688-4507 to make sure that the person pitching the investment, and the investment itself, are properly registered with us.”

Clark also pleaded guilty to separate insurance fraud charges in Alamance County.

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