Broker Pleads Guilty To Securities Fraud

John Bear, Alamogordo Daily News, N.M.

By John Bear, Alamogordo Daily News, N.M.
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

July 12--Carrizozo >> An Otero and Lincoln County-based insurance broker who defrauded another man out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2011 pleaded guilty Wednesday to securities fraud and conspiracy charges.

According to a 12th Judicial District Attorney's Office press release, Bill Turner pleaded guilty in 12th Judicial District Court in Carrizozo to 13 counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors.

Twelfth Judicial Deputy District Attorney John Sugg said Turner was originally charged with 211 counts in connection to a scam that defrauded an investor.

Sugg said Turner sold fake insurance policies through the Turner Insurance Agency, using his victim, Johnny Cleveland, as a financier as opposed to going to a bank.

"He tells Cleveland, 'I've got this great investment for you. Why don't you buy these insurance policies instead of me going to the bank and having the bank provide the financing,'" Sugg said.

He said Turner was using real client names -- many out of Tularosa -- from The Turner Insurance Agency but the policies were fakes.

"It's almost like a Ponzi scheme," Sugg said. "But it doesn't build on other people. It just builds on the same victim."

The Daily News attempted to contact the owner of the Turner Insurance Agency seeking comment for this story but telephone calls were never returned.

Sugg said the insurance agency is still in operation -- with offices in Ruidoso and Tularosa -- and owned by Turner's wife, but Bill Turner claims to not work there.

"To my knowledge he is still a licensed insurance broker," he said.

Sugg said Cleveland bought 69 contracts from Turner, the first 11 being paid back in full. Eventually, Turner could not keep up with the monthly obligation to his victim, so the scheme unraveled.

He said that Turner enlisted two of his employees to falsify documents after Cleveland became suspicious.

Sugg said one of the employees, Janice Polk, pleaded guilty to charges related to the scam about two weeks ago, and charges are pending against the other employee.

Under the agreement, Turner agrees to pay full restitution to Cleveland. A restitution hearing is scheduled for next month. The prosecution estimates that Turner will owe Cleveland about $215,000, according to the press release.

Sugg said Turner -- who remains free pending sentencing -- faces 20 years in prison if he makes full restitution.

If he fails to make full restitution before sentencing in January of next year, he faces no less than five years and no more than 30 years in prison, Sugg said.

"Regardless of whether he pays the restitution or not, we are still going to be seeking incarceration," he said. "We're going to be asking on the high end, regardless, either 20 years or 30 years."

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