Envision CEO accused of bilking investors

An Omaha investment adviser has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of defrauding investors of more than $500,000, federal prosecutors said Friday. Ryan Jindra, 34, misled clients and improperly withdrew money from client accounts, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Jindra is president and CEO of Envision Investment Advisors LLC and chief executive of Envision Financial Group. He faces two counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. Jindra's Omaha attorney, David Domina, said Friday he hadn't seen the indictment. But Domina wasn't surprised by it, saying he and Jindra have been cooperating with prosecutors and that talks will continue. Domina said the two firms are inactive. Prosecutors said the fraudulent activity occurred over a year's time, beginning in July 2008. The money was transferred to different accounts held by the two firms or into Jindra's personal account, according to the indictment. If convicted, Jindra faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. Jindra was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission last June. At issue in that case was at least $773,000 Jindra charged in excessive fees to clients beginning in August 2008, according to the lawsuit. The SEC said Jindra used some of the fee money to pay business debts at his company, some for personal benefit, and some to repay investors who had been charged fees earlier. Jindra was managing about $3.1 million in assets when the lawsuit was filed, according to the lawsuit.