Delaware News

Biden’s Office secures second criminal indictment in investment fraud case

Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Fraud | Date Posted: Tuesday, August 17, 2010



Biden’s Office secures second criminal indictment in investment fraud case

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that his Securities Unit has obtained an
indictment against a Michigan man for allegedly swindling a New Castle County resident out of more
than a quarter-million dollars.

Patrick A. Wiley, age 43, of Detroit, Michigan, was charged in today’s indictment with
securities fraud, selling unregistered securities, theft, and racketeering. The indictment arises out of an
investment recovery scam perpetrated by Wiley against a New Castle County victim from October,
2005 to November, 2007.

“We are particularly disturbed by crimes that use trust and confidence as a means to an
illegitimate end. The victim in this case has lost over $300,000 in a con game,” Biden said. “With
deep sympathies for her loss, we remind all Delawareans that any deal that sounds too good to be true,
probably is.”

The investment recovery scam grew out of an investment scam that the victim had fallen prey
to in early 2005. At that time, Darren Dobson, a New Castle County resident, induced the victim to
invest in a “joint trading venture” that supposedly involved several wealthy persons in London,
England. Dobson claimed that a $50,000 investment would yield a return of $10 million by June,
2005. The victim invested in this venture by wiring $45,000 to a company called VFG Management,
LLC in Tampa, Florida, the entity through which the London partners were supposedly operating the
joint trading venture.

In June, 2005, when the promised investment return failed to materialize, the victim contacted
others who were believed to have invested in the venture, including Patrick Wiley. Wiley claimed he
had information regarding the principals involved and that he would pursue them to obtain the victim’s
promised investment return. On numerous occasions between October, 2005 and November, 2007,
Wiley solicited funds from the victim to defray the cost of his efforts, including trips that he was
supposedly taking abroad for meetings with the London trading partners and their attorney. During
that time period, the victim wired more than $276,000 to Wiley on sixty-one separate occasions. The
victim never received the promised investment return or the investment principal.

The indictment announced today by the Attorney General follows a New Castle County Grand
Jury indictment in February, 2010 of Darren Dobson (age 45, currently residing in Charlotte, North
Carolina) on charges of securities fraud, the sale of unregistered securities, and the transaction of
business as an unregistered agent. Trial in that case is scheduled for September, 2010.

The Attorney General’s Office, through its Securities Unit, enforces the Delaware Securities
Act, which regulates the sale of investment products and the activities of investment professionals in
Delaware. The Unit investigates and prosecutes securities fraud and licensing violations by investment
brokers and advisers. Delaware investors are encouraged to report suspected incidents of investment
crime and fraud by calling the Attorney General’s Securities Fraud Hotline at (302) 577-8424.
The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an
allegation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial
at which the state bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
# # #

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Biden’s Office secures second criminal indictment in investment fraud case

Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Fraud | Date Posted: Tuesday, August 17, 2010



Biden’s Office secures second criminal indictment in investment fraud case

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that his Securities Unit has obtained an
indictment against a Michigan man for allegedly swindling a New Castle County resident out of more
than a quarter-million dollars.

Patrick A. Wiley, age 43, of Detroit, Michigan, was charged in today’s indictment with
securities fraud, selling unregistered securities, theft, and racketeering. The indictment arises out of an
investment recovery scam perpetrated by Wiley against a New Castle County victim from October,
2005 to November, 2007.

“We are particularly disturbed by crimes that use trust and confidence as a means to an
illegitimate end. The victim in this case has lost over $300,000 in a con game,” Biden said. “With
deep sympathies for her loss, we remind all Delawareans that any deal that sounds too good to be true,
probably is.”

The investment recovery scam grew out of an investment scam that the victim had fallen prey
to in early 2005. At that time, Darren Dobson, a New Castle County resident, induced the victim to
invest in a “joint trading venture” that supposedly involved several wealthy persons in London,
England. Dobson claimed that a $50,000 investment would yield a return of $10 million by June,
2005. The victim invested in this venture by wiring $45,000 to a company called VFG Management,
LLC in Tampa, Florida, the entity through which the London partners were supposedly operating the
joint trading venture.

In June, 2005, when the promised investment return failed to materialize, the victim contacted
others who were believed to have invested in the venture, including Patrick Wiley. Wiley claimed he
had information regarding the principals involved and that he would pursue them to obtain the victim’s
promised investment return. On numerous occasions between October, 2005 and November, 2007,
Wiley solicited funds from the victim to defray the cost of his efforts, including trips that he was
supposedly taking abroad for meetings with the London trading partners and their attorney. During
that time period, the victim wired more than $276,000 to Wiley on sixty-one separate occasions. The
victim never received the promised investment return or the investment principal.

The indictment announced today by the Attorney General follows a New Castle County Grand
Jury indictment in February, 2010 of Darren Dobson (age 45, currently residing in Charlotte, North
Carolina) on charges of securities fraud, the sale of unregistered securities, and the transaction of
business as an unregistered agent. Trial in that case is scheduled for September, 2010.

The Attorney General’s Office, through its Securities Unit, enforces the Delaware Securities
Act, which regulates the sale of investment products and the activities of investment professionals in
Delaware. The Unit investigates and prosecutes securities fraud and licensing violations by investment
brokers and advisers. Delaware investors are encouraged to report suspected incidents of investment
crime and fraud by calling the Attorney General’s Securities Fraud Hotline at (302) 577-8424.
The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an
allegation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial
at which the state bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
# # #

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.