Barren County Financial Advisor Charged with Embezzling Approximately $2.4 Million from Clients

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BOWLING GREEN, KY—A Barren County,Kentucky financial advisor has been indicted by a federal grand jury meeting inBowling Green on charges of defrauding clients residing in Kentucky andsouthern Indiana of approximately $2.4 million, announced David J. Hale, UnitedStates Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Jonathan Neal Leber, 36, of Glasgow, ischarged in a one-count indictment with devising a scheme to defraud and toobtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses,representations, and promises from individuals who were clients of thedefendant’s financial advisement business, Intrepid Financial Strategies Inc.
According to the indictment, betweenAugust 1, 2007 and January 14, 2011, Leber would allegedly promise to investclients’ money in bonds and tax lien certificates paying returns between 4 and6 percent; reinvest clients’ IRA accounts in to qualified “rollover” investmentaccounts paying higher rates of return and would not result in fees or causetax liabilities; and invest client money in stocks, bonds, annuities, and aStyrofoam recycling business. The indictment states that Leber never intendedto make the investments that were represented to the clients and insteadintended to and did expend these monies for his personal benefit and gain andfor the benefit and gain of a personal business venture—Cedar Ridge ShootingRide Academy LLC—that Leber formed, owned, and operated.
Leber was previously indicted in BullittCircuit Court on three felony counts of forgery and received a probated sentenceafter entering a guilty plea on all counts. He is currently awaiting sentencingin Jefferson Circuit Court after pleading guilty to fraud charges.
If convicted of the federal charge,Leber faces no more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, and athree-year term of supervised release.
This case is being prosecuted byAssistant United States Attorney Jim Lesousky and was investigated by theFederal Bureau of Investigation.
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The indictment of a person by a grandjury is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until andunless proven guilty.