Colorado man charged with securities fraud and forgery

Daniel Todd Levine was indicted on April 6 on eight counts of securities fraud and 11 counts of forgery of check or commercial instruments. An arrest warrant was issued from the Denver District Court and Levine was arrested by Littleton law enforcement on April 12.

The indictment alleges that Levine made material misstatements and omissions when soliciting multiple investors to invest in Annaly Capital Management, Real Properties, Elevate, and Zephyr (and/or Zephyr’s associated business entities). For example, Levine failed to use proceeds as promised and instead used them for personal purposes like gambling debts, automobile payments and direct payments to his wife.

The indictment also alleges that Levine repeatedly attempted to obtain loans in a victim’s name and applied for loans in the victim’s name without the victim’s permission.

The Colorado Division of Securities investigated this matter, and the Colorado Attorney General’s Criminal Justice/Financial Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

This is not Levine’s first run in with the law related to securities investments. In March 2019, the Colorado Division of Securities alleged that Levine ran a Bitcoin scheme and entered into a consent order that revoked his securities licenses and barred him from reapplying.

He is also barred by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from acting as a broker or investment adviser or otherwise associating with firms that sell securities or provide investment advice to the public. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has also barred Levine.

A grand jury indictment is a formal accusation that an individual committed a crime under Colorado laws. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.