Thursday, May. 19, 2011

http://www.bnd.com/2011/05/19/1713978/grand-jury-indicts-belleville.html

Belleville financial investor Edward L. Moskop was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on mail fraud and money laundering charges.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen R. Wigginton announced that the grand jury returned a two-count indictment Wednesday against Moskop, owner of Moskop & Associates Inc. at 2810 Frank Scott Parkway West in Belleville. If convicted, Moskop faces up to 20 years in prison for mail fraud and up to 10 years for money laundering, as well as a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on each charge.

Moskop could not be reached for comment.

The indictment alleges that Moskop, 63, acted as a security broker for several customers and made mutual fund and other investments. On Nov. 19, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Moskop and his financial services firm for allegedly defrauding an elderly couple since 1989. The suit accuses Moskop of falsely claiming to make securities investments on the couple's behalf.

Prosecutors say Moskop's financial services firm misused $2.4 million from 25 would-be investors. One included Moskop's cousin, Evelyn Rich, who learned late last year that Moskop squandered her life's savings, which totaled more than $100,000. The 77-year-old was forced to sell her furniture and other possessions and leave her Mesa, Ariz., home and moved in with relatives in Belleville.

Moskop's attorney, Justin Kuehn, told The Associated Press he hasn't seen the indictment and won't comment publicly. Moskop's first court appearance is set for June 6.