Colorado ex-advisor sentenced for fraud targeting pro athletes

A former Colorado RIA who targeted professional athletes and other clients in a multi-year fraud has been sentenced to more than three years in prison, following parallel criminal and civil actions that accused him of raising over $1.2 million under false pretenses.

Ian Gregory Bell, 36, of Denver, received a 37-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $1,231,230 in restitution and a $150,000 fine, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

A statement from the Colorado attorney's office this week said Bell pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and will also serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.

The SEC brought a parallel civil action last December, alleging that Bell raised more than $1.3 million from at least 29 investors between July 2020 and March 2023.

Federal prosecutors said Bell began soliciting funds from investors in early 2020, touting his credentials as a licensed investment advisor and former managing director at an investment firm.

According to Bell's record with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he was affiliated as an investment advisor with Black Swift Group for brief periods between 2018 and 2020, and has since not been officially registered with the commission.

The complaint filed by the SEC described Bell as an unemployed day-trader in early 2020; by that July, he had a half-year record of racking up losses amounting to several thousand dollars per month.

At that point, he began solicing funds to invest from his social network in Denver. By January 2021, he had raised roughly $100,000 from at least six investors to participate in his scheme. He subsequently expanded his fundraising circle to include friends, relatives, and business associates of earlier investors. 

"Between approximately May 2021 and July 2022, Bell raised more than $1 million in additional funds from at least 23 additional investors for his Investment Program," the SEC said in its complaint.

Over the course of at least two years, Bell convinced dozens of individuals – including several unnamed professional athletes in Colorado – to invest in what he described as a low-risk, high-return day-trading strategy.

“In nearly all cases, however, he spent or lost the investors’ money within days or weeks of receiving it,” the Justice Department said in its indictment of Bell, handed down last December. The investor losses were described as nearly total, with only small amounts ever repaid.

Instead of making profitable investments, authorities say Bell misrepresented his trading performance, fabricated account statements, and used investor money to fund personal expenses such as luxury travel, jewelry, and his fiancée’s credit card bills.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Bell sent investors fabricated screenshots purporting to show strong account performance, and encouraged existing clients to refer friends and family based on these false statements.

Bell did not provide written materials outlining his strategy or performance, and failed to keep reliable records of investor funds or performance. In many instances, investors were told their principal was guaranteed or that their investments could be doubled or tripled – claims that prosecutors and regulators say were entirely false.

“Defrauding people who put their trust into a financial advisor is a serious crime,” United States Attorney Peter McNeilly said in a statement. “Justice has been served for those who were negatively impacted by the defendant’s dishonest actions.”