Treynor, Iowa Investment Advisor Accused Of Running Ponzi Scheme

(Treynor, IA) — A longtime investment advisor in southwest Iowa is accused of running a Ponzi scheme with his clients’ money. Carley Financial Group has been registered for 28 years in Treynor. Charging documents made public last week show Jeffrey Carley had been advising his clients to move money from their traditional individual retirement accounts to so-called “self-directed” I-R-As since 2013. Carley then directed the clients toward investments he had an interest in through two other companies, but he didn’t disclose the conflict. Prosecutors say he would create fraudulent “annual statements of earnings” for the clients, but he was using the money for personal expenses and used funds invested by new clients to pay the fake returns to prior investors. Carley had been indicted on six counts of wire fraud involving at least five victims and 109-thousand dollars in total assets.