Nevada man charged with securities fraud

The Nevada secretary of state's office reported Wednesday that it charged a Southern Nevada man with securities fraud related to the sale of fake certificates of deposits.

Thomas G. Vail was arrested Tuesday at his Henderson office and charged with eight felony counts, including doing business as an unlicensed investment adviser, fraudulent sale of securities and illegally doing business under a fictitious name. Other charges accuse him of illegal acts with individuals older than 60 years of age.

Vail did business as Anthem Financial Group at 2850 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson. Attempts to reach Vail for comment were unsuccessful.

Vail is accused of selling certificates that were offered by Federal Savings, which was owned by Jeremy Stamper.

The Review-Journal reported in March 2007 that Washington state securities officials ordered Stamper to shut down the Web site, which promised savers yearly yields of 6 percent to 8 percent.

Las Vegas police also investigated.

Stamper later was ordered to pay $4.7 million in restitution to 200 investors in 37 states.

The Nevada secretary of state in October reported that Stamper agreed to pay $200,000 back to Nevada victims, but the state agency said other aspects of the Federal Savings case remain pending.

While the total amount involved wasn't large, Secretary of State Ross Miller in a statement said his office will "investigate and prosecute every case we can, regardless of the dollar figure."

Miller said the arrest should serve as a warning to unlicensed investment brokers. "For unwary consumers, this is a warning that they should do extensive research before they invest," Miller said.

Jane Kodama, 66, of Henderson told state officials she saw a newspaper advertisement from Anthem offering "FDIC-insured bank CDs" that paid 5.95 percent.

Vail said he could offer her a better "bank CD" that yielded 6.25 percent, according to an affidavit. She invested $27,300, not knowing that Federal Savings wasn't a federally insured bank.

Clarence Wanta, 83, of Las Vegas invested $50,000 with Federal Savings, based on promises that the money was a federally insured deposit, according to the Nevada secretary of state.

The affidavit also mentions two other Southern Nevada victims: Diane Lutz, 73, of Las Vegas; and Wanda Fannon, whose age and hometown were not identified.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0420.