Shawnee Carver of Valley Investments Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Securities and Mail Fraud

DENVER—Shawnee Carver, age 34, of Grand Junction, Colorado, pled guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer to conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud in connection with a investment fraud scheme perpetrated by Philip Lochmiller, Sr., and Philip Lochmiller, Jr., also known as Valley Investments. The scheme was mainly implemented on the Western Slope of Colorado. Carver is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2011, at 10:30 a.m. by Judge Brimmer in Grand Junction, Colorado. Philip Lochmiller, Jr., who pled guilty last month to conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud and money laundering, will also be sentenced on that date in Grand Junction.

Carver was hired by the Lochmillers in August 2005 as a full-time employee and as the personal assistant to Lochmiller, Jr. Carver communicated with investors more than any other employee of Valley Investments and participated in providing false information to investors. Beginning in approximately 2007, Carver prepared documents for investors, and was fully aware that the specific real estate that was to secure the investments made by the investors was already encumbered despite representations to the contrary. Carver was also entrusted with investors’ financial records, which gave her access to information about investments, interest rates and calculations, payment schedules, dates of payment, and total amounts of principle and interest owed and paid. Carver repeatedly reassured investors that Valley Investments’ business was doing well even when she knew that was not true.

Carver faces not more than five years’ imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Heldmyer and Pegeen Rhyne.

This prosecution is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.