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Former Owner of Noble Trust Company Pleads Guilty
CONCORD, NH—Acting United States Attorney Michael J.
Gunnison, New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Banking
Commissioner Peter Hildreth, and Special Agent in Charge Warren T. Bamford of the
Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that Colin P. Lindsey,
the founder and former owner, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Noble Trust Company (NTC) pleaded guilty late yesterday to two counts of mail fraud.
Documents previously filed in United States District Court allege that Lindsey, a
41-year-old resident of Manchester, New Hampshire, created and managed an investment
product called the “Noble Alternative Income Fund” (NAIF). Investors who owned
NAIF accounts were promised interest payments of at least 12 percent per year, payable
on a periodic basis or as a lump sum whenever the accounts were closed. While
managing the fund, Lindsey used monies in customer NAIF accounts to make loans to a
Colorado company known as “Sierra Factoring, Inc.” (Sierra), in a manner which was not
disclosed to some of the NAIF account holders. After Sierra stopped making payments
on the NTC loans in August 2006, NTC’s ability to honor its obligations to NAIF
investors was adversely affected, and Lindsey took steps to recoup NTC’s losses and to
prevent NAIF investors from learning that their money had been lost.
According to the court filings, from October 2006 to September 2007, Lindsey
diverted more than $780,000 in funds invested by new NTC customers to make payments
to existing NAIF account holders, in violation of the fiduciary duty that Lindsey owed to
NTC’s new customers. Lindsey also caused quarterly account statements to be mailed to
NAIF investors, falsely reporting that the market value of their accounts remained at least
equal to their original investments, thus concealing both the fact that those investments
were seriously at risk, and Lindsey’s diversion of new customer monies to shore up the
ailing NAIF accounts.
The charges against Lindsey further describe efforts by Lindsey to replace monies
loaned to Sierra by obtaining commissions from insurance companies which sold high
value life insurance policies to customers of Balcarres, LLC, a Manchester, NH insurance
agency that was partly owned by Lindsey. The charges state that another person, Jerry
Marino, referred prospective customers to Lindsey, and Lindsey in turn paid Marino a fee
each time one of his referrals purchased a high value life insurance policy through
Balcarres. Court documents allege that from approximately October 2006, to October
2007, Marino provided false information regarding the applicants’ personal financial
status to Lindsey. After learning that applicants’ personal financial information was
false, Lindsey nevertheless caused the false information to be mailed with applications
for policies to the insurance companies. As a result of that conduct, Lindsey received
commissions totaling approximately $5.5 million and paid approximately $2.1 million of
that money to Marino.
Commissioner Peter Hildreth of the New Hampshire Banking Department stated,
“After our routine examination uncovered possible criminal wrongdoing, the Banking
Department reported the suspected activity to the appropriate authorities and took control
of Noble Trust Company. It was only through hard work and cooperation by the United
States Attorney’s Office, the NH Attorney General’s Office, the FBI and the New
Hampshire Banking Department that the individuals were brought to justice.”
Attorney General Kelly Ayotte commented, “These cases demonstrate the State’s
commitment to work with federal and state agencies to vigilantly protect investors from
fraudulent schemes and to bring wrongdoers to justice.” Press Releases | Boston Home
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