Lakewood man indicted on securities fraud, theft charges
Kenneth Wyatt
JEFFERSON COUNTY – A 51-year-old Lakewood man is free on bail after his indictment on 51 counts of securities fraud and four counts of theft, all felonies, the District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
The indictment handed down by a Jefferson County grand jury last month charges Kenneth Dewey Wyatt of “fraudulently soliciting over $1.7 million from his friends, acquaintances and coworkers between April 2007 and October 2008,” according to a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office.
Prosecutors say Wyatt approached potential investors and asked for money to expand his business and, in return, offered rates of return as high as 40 percent on “very short-term investments.”
According to the indictment, Wyatt repaid less than 5 percent of the $1.7 million invested with him, making nominal repayments to some investors and paying nothing to the others. Wyatt is suspected of using money from one investor to make partial payments to another. Twelve victims were named in the indictment.
Wyatt began business as Wyatt Group Realty, LLC at 255 Union in Lakewood in 2007, operating a real estate firm assisting the public and businesses with real estate transactions.
But investigators say Wyatt Group Realty began to falter in 2008, and Wyatt sought money from investors to create Vast Property Management. According to court documents, Vast Property never produced any income and appears to have been a straw company.
Wyatt is accused of moving money between four business bank accounts and two personal accounts and prosecutors say that when he solicited money to expand his business in 2007 and 2008, he allegedly failed to disclose a previous bankruptcy filing to investors, as required by law, or that he had been sued in 2006 and 2007 by the State of Colorado Department of Revenue for failure to pay taxes. Wyatt also is accused of failing to tell potential investors that their money would be transferred into his personal bank account.
An investigation involving the Jefferson County District Attorney and the state Attorney General’s Office began in late 2009. The Colorado Division of Securities of the Department of Regulatory Agencies assisted in the investigation. The indictment was returned on February 18.
Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey praised the work of the grand jury and investigators. “Security fraud investigations are complicated and time consuming, said DA Scott Storey. “It’s easy for investors to become vulnerable in today’s business climate when everyone is eager to maximize their return. This case is a good illustration to anyone considering an investment to remember that if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.”
Wyatt was arrested Feb. 23 and posted a $25,000 cash bond. He is scheduled to appear in court March 7, 2011.
