A Pompano Beach man who has a history of run-ins with federal agencies has been arrested by the FBI and charged with conspiring to defraud investors out of millions of dollars through sham purchases of gold, silver and other commodities.
Charles Paul “Chip” Hoffecker, 49, was arrested by FBI agents at his home Wednesday after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Newark, N.J., on five counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
Also charged with the same six counts was Charles Edward Myers, 61, of Fort Lauderdale and Nassau, Bahamas, who was arrested in Seattle on Wednesday.
“This is a substantial case of fraud resulting in a loss of faith by many, many investors,” said Robert Kirsch, an assistant U.S. attorney in Newark.
Hoffecker, who was released on $1.1 million bail, could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Ben Kuehne of Miami, said his client has done nothing wrong.
“Mr. Hoffecker has lived with this nightmare for five years,” Kuehne said.
“While the timing of the indictment is unfortunate, he nonetheless welcomes the chance to be vindicated in a court of law and is prepared to demonstrate that he has been a good and effective financial adviser who has always complied with the law.”
Myers, who was expected to be released on $600,000 bail Friday, could not be reached for comment.
According to the indictment, Hoffecker had an ownership interest in Amitex Investment Services Ltd. Inc., a Bahamian corporation that purportedly sold commodities such as gold, silver, copper and heating oil on a leveraged basis to consumers. Myers was Amitex’s vice president. The investments were sold throughout the United States through boiler rooms in New Jersey and Georgia.
The defendants allegedly told investors they would buy actual commodities and store them in facilities outside the United States, when in fact, no commodities were purchased, according to the indictment. The defendants also allegedly charged investors interest for loans that were never made.
By Jenni Bergal, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel
