| Arthur Leroy Heffelfinger, a financial professional in East Helena, Montana, was arrested on a felony charge of defrauding an elderly person. Heffelfinger was accused of perpetrating a Ponzi scheme that victimized numerous investors, with losses exceeding $2 million.
Heffelfinger, a registered stock broker, promised victims he would generate above-market returns on their investments. In fact, he failed to invest their funds, and appropriated them for personal purposes, according to the prosecutors.
Heffelfinger denied the charges and entered pleas of not guilty on Thursday. A trial date for his case was scheduled for April 26th in the Lewis & Clark County Court, Judge Kathy Seeley's courtroom.
Investigation by the securities litigation law firm of Chapman & Associates, LLC determined that Heffelfinger was a licensed broker for a prestigious financial institution. He took advantage of his securities license to perpetrate his alleged Ponzi scheme between February 2001 and Sept. 2009. He lured victims from Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, Broadwater, Missoula, Lake, Judith Basin, Gallatin and Ravalli counties, according to documents filed in District Court.
The securities litigation law firm of Chapman & Associates is investigating whether Heffelfinger's employer was negligent in its supervision of Heffelfinger's sales, in breach of its duties to safeguard the investing public against fraud.
"Too often we see financial institutions asleep at the wheel, while their brokers take advantage of lax supervisory procedures to defraud individual investors," said John Chapman, a securities attorney. "We intend to hold liable those who permitted Heffelfinger to perpetrate his alleged Ponzi scheme," said Chapman.
The securities litigation law firm of Chapman & Associates is preparing to take action on behalf of victimized investors. If you have lost money with Heffelfinger, contact the law firm of Chapman & Associates. Click here to read important statements and disclosures regarding this case. |
