Jan.23, 2010

A 48-year-old former Mason resident was indicted Jan. 6 on multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering totalling more than $2 million.

Ty Allan Klotz, who was residing in Carbondale, Ill., is being held in an Illinois jail until he can be transferred by the U.S. Marshals Service to Michigan, said Kaye Hooker, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of Michigan. Klotz then will be arraigned in Michigan's Western District of the U.S. District Court.

A message left at Klotz's home was not returned Friday. He was arrested by FBI on Jan. 14 in Illinois.

According to the indictment, Klotz defrauded hundreds of investors of more than $2 million from 2004 to 2006. A former handyman in the Mason area, Klotz opened businesses there and began to portray himself as a licensed commodities broker, the indictment stated. While running Aurifex Investment, Aurifex Research LLC and Aurifex Commodities Research Company, Klotz reportedly told investors their money was being properly managed and receiving large rates of return.

To assure his clients that their money was being managed well, the indictment stated Klotz would send investors faulty statements. The money he collected from them was being used to pay wages, bonuses and buy gifts for employees and family members, the indictment stated. He also used the money for Rolex watches, luxury vehicles, clothing and a personal residence, according to the indictment.

While being investigated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which protects the public from fraud and illegal business schemes, Klotz reportedly gave some of the money back. The commission eventually took Klotz to civil court and he was ordered in 2008 to pay investors about $1.8 million in restitution and about $1.3 million in penalties.

According to a release from the commission, 352 people were defrauded in the scheme. Many of those investors still are owed significant amounts of money, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The indictment lists 30 counts on which Klotz will be arraigned, including 15 counts of mail fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and seven counts of money laundering. Each count of mail fraud and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.