Coaching Catastrophe
A self-labeled Missouri “financial coach” is facing up to 30 years in prison for multiple fraud charges stemming from his financial advice.
Bryan Binkholder, owner and founder of the firm The Financial Coach, allegedly caused investors to lose $3 million in a scheme revolving around real estate investments, according to an Aug. 14 indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Prosecutors claim Binkholder told investors their money would go toward providing short-term loans to area real estate developers at a high interest rates with Binkholder acting as the bank. Except, according to prosecutors, he only made a small number of hard money loans and used the rest to pay interest and personal expenses.
No Where to Run
An Indiana investment advisor pled guilty to fraud charges related to his scam that conned Indiana investors out of more than $1 million. Under the terms of a plea deal reached with prosecutors, Lynn A. Simon agreed to plead guilty and serve a 2-year prison sentence and eight years of work release.
Investigators started looking into Simon in April 2013, after he went missing and the Indiana Secretary of State's Office reported getting complaints about him. According to prosecutors, investors’ money wasn’t going to insurance companies as Simon described, but rather into an account used by Simon to personal withdrawals. Additionally, investments offered by Simon through his Financial Security Planning firm were not registered.
Following his disappearance, investigators tracked Simon to Alabama and later to New Mexico before obtaining a warrant. Simon eventually surrendered at the Vanderburgh County Jail last September and court proceedings followed shortly thereafter.
