Kurt Branham Barton, the former CEO of Triton Financial, a financial firm based in Austin, Texas, has been indicted on 33 counts, including Texas securities fraud, money laundering, and wire fraud. Barton allegedly used ex-NFL stars and church contacts in a $50 million Ponzi scam.
The American-Statesman reports that beginning in 2002, Barton accumulated a number of partnerships and companies based around Triton Financial. He even hired ex-NFL stars Chris Weinke and Ty Detmer to persuade clients to invest. Many investors belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Barton is also a member).
Court documents contend that Barton got investors to give him over $50 million and that he used the funds to live a lavish lifestyle that included expensive vehicles, flying in private planes, and a luxury box for watching University of Texas football games. He also made money in political campaign contributions.
By 2009, however, several securities fraud complaints had been filed. Investors accused Barton of misleading them about where their money would go. The Securities and Exchange Commission would go on to file a securities fraud lawsuit against Triton Financial and Barton, and the Texas State Securities Board has stripped him of his investment adviser license.
The indictment accuses Barton of lying about his investments to investors regulators and of creating “false, fictitious, and fraudulent limited partnerships. He also allegedly used an E-Trade statement that showed his holdings had a balance of over $3 million even though the actual balance was $3,161.17. Barton is accused of giving regulators “altered and fabricated documents” about his business dealings.
A judge has placed Triton Financial in receivership. Per the receiver’ statement on January 31, 2011, over 600 investors have made $63.3 million in securities fraud claims against the financial firm and its ex-CEO.
Related Web Resources:
Former Triton chief indicted on charges of money laundering and fraud, Statesman, February 15, 2011
Broker indicted in fraud with NFL stars, KXAN, February 16, 2011
Read the Indictment (PDF)
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Ponzi schemes continue to bilk investors of millions. Our Texas securities fraud law firm is committed to recovering our clients’ losses.