Hearing held for ‘life coach’ accused of swindling couple
A man charged with theft and securities fraud for allegedly swindling a married couple out of $250,000 was to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court on Thursday, the state attorney general’s office said.
Catherine Cortez Masto’s office said that Richard Bernstein faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine of $500,000 for one count of theft and one count of securities fraud, both category B felonies.
The office said Bernstein is accused of swindling the couple after they consulted him on how to invest profits from the sale of their home. The office said Bernstein, who represents himself as an executive and life coach, advised the couple to invest in Turn-Key Financial Group, a new business in Henderson that he was to head.
The office said Bernstein told the couple he would match their investment in Turn-Key and that the money they invested would be used to pay legitimate business expenses. Instead, the office said, Bernstein invested none of his own money and converted $125,000 of the couple’s money for personal use to buy Bentley and BMW cars for himself and his wife.