By Anna Gustafson
A federal grand jury indicted five members of a Uniondale, L.I., investment firm on charges they swindled $9 million from members of their Forest Hills church and others, the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn said Tuesday.
Isaac Ovid, 28, an ordained minister at the Local Christian Assembly Church on 70th Avenue in Forest Hills, and fellow members of Jadis Management — Aaron Riddle, 34; Joseph Coleman, 40; Timothy Smith, 35; and Robert Riddle, 59 —were indicted by a grand jury in Brooklyn Tuesday on charges of conspiracy and securities fraud, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
All five men are identified as senior members of the Forest Hills church, according to U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell.
The five defendants in 2005 allegedly guaranteed high returns to persuade church member to invest money in two hedge funds that the five had started, Logos Multi−Strategy and Donum Fund, according to the U.S. attorney.
The individuals then allegedly spent investors’ money on such items as a $200,000 Bentley and renovations of their Uniondale office totaling $1.6 million, the federal prosecutor said. They also allegedly used investor funds to buy jewelry, clothing and meals, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleged the five individuals collected approximately $12.3 million in investments for the two hedge funds and either lost or spent $10.2 million of investors’ money, Campbell said.
“These defendants abused their positions of influence and trust to solicit investments by fraud and line their own pockets,” Campbell said in a statement.
According to the indictment, Robert Riddle allegedly advised one victim to take out a mortgage totaling more than $500,000 on the victim’s house in order to invest in the Logos Fund. Riddle had promised the victim a 75 percent profit on the investment, the indictment alleged.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e−mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 174.
