Canadian Business on October 13, 2011 released the following:
“By AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A former FBI agent and his wife pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges related to a $1.3 million investment-fraud scheme.
John Robert Graves and Sara Turberville Graves of Fredericksburg appeared in U.S. District Court in Richmond. The two are charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and other fraud counts. John Graves also is charged with lying to federal investigators.
U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer set a three-day jury trial that will begin Feb. 7 for the couple, who declined to comment after the hearing.
John Graves, 52, founded the Brook Point Management investment and insurance company in 2003. He and Sara Graves, 44, used Brook Point to sell insurance, perform estate- and tax-planning services, and recruit and advise investment clients, the indictment said.
“In many instances, during the initial meeting with potential clients, John Graves told them he was formerly with the FBI, which reassured the potential clients about investing with him,” prosecutors said in the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that roughly between June 2008 and this past July, the couple misrepresented to about 11 clients the safety of their investments, and how the money would be used. According to the indictment, they used investor funds to purchase real estate in Spotsylvania County, pay credit card bills and dues for their timeshare, along with repaying earlier investors who requested access to their money.
Graves, a former FBI special agent, left the agency in 1999, prosecutors said. The two are free on personal recognizance bond.
The Virginia Financial Securities Fraud Task Force coordinated the investigation. The group is a partnership between criminal investigators and civil regulators to pursue complex financial fraud cases.”
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