A longtime investment advisor in Treynor is accused of running a Ponzi scheme with his clients’ money. According to various reports and charging documents, Jeffrey Carley, owner of Carley Financial Group, had allegedly been advising clients since at least 2013 to move money out of their traditional individual retirement accounts, to so-called “self-directed” IRA’s, which grant the owner greater control over their investments. Carley would then direct the client toward investments he had an interest in through the other two companies, without disclosing that conflict.

Carley would then create fraudulent “annual statements of earnings” to share with his clients. In fact, prosecutors say, Carley used the money invested in Prosperity Partners or Main Street Solutions for personal business, and made only minimal interest payments back into his clients’ accounts, using funds invested by new clients to pay supposed returns to prior investors. His agency has been registered since 1993.

According to charging documents made public Thursday, Carley also owned all or part of two other companies — Prosperity Partners and Main Street Solutions — all of which he operated from Treynor. Court records show he was charged in a sealed indictment, in February, and arrested Thursday after Federal authorities announced they had executed a search warrant at his residence in Treynor, as KJAN mentioned previously. Carley has been indicted on six counts of wire fraud involving at least five victims in Colorado and Nebraska and a total of at least $109,000.

He appeared in court Thursday and was granted pretrial release, with conditions including that he not engage in financial advising while the case proceeds.