PHOENIX (CN) - Danny Wise, a CPA, took $67 million from 125 people in a loan and land scam, the SEC says in Federal Court. Wise and his Scottsdale-based companies - Whispering Winds Properties, LM Beagle Properties, Karlena Inc., and Axis International - have gulled investors since 2001, the SEC says.
"Between 2001 and 2009, approximately 125 people invested approximately $67 million with Wise and the Wise Companies," according to the federal complaint. "Defendants misrepresented that investor's funds would be invested in loans secured by real estate, that they would earn high returns, and that they could obtain the repayment of their investment on short notice. Defendants did not loan the funds as represented, did not pay investors the promised returns, and have not repaid the loans to investors despite the investors' repeated requests."
Wise's CPA license was revoked in Arizona in December 2008. He allegedly ran the whole deal with just two employees.
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