An Evansville man has pleaded guilty to charges that he swindled more than $1 million from area residents.
63-year-old investment adviser Lynn Simon pleaded guilty to three counts of securities fraud and a charge of unlawful sale of a security.
The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office agreed to a deal with Simon that would sentence him to two years in prison and eight years of work release, if Judge David Kiely accepts the agreement.
Simon was a registered investment adviser who operated Financial Security Planning in Evansville. He also operated a business called The Insurance Shoppe.
Investigators tell the Courier and Press that none of the investments discovered during the investigation was registered with the state. And bank records didn’t show any money going to investments or insurance companies as Simon said they were. Instead, investor money was going into the account of other investors or being withdrawn by Simon.
The records show more than $42,000 was withdrawn one day before his wife reported him missing. Investigators traced Simon to Alabama, then to New Mexico, and he surrendered at the Vanderburgh County Jail last September.