Owner of Local Investment Trust Convicted of Federal Fraud Charges

St. Louis, MO: Kermit Hall, one of the owners of the Kingsley Trust, was convicted of wire and mail fraud charges involving the theft of investor funds, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

“Instead of investing victims’ funds, Hall and Cooper used approximately $345,000 of their funds to purchase a vehicle, pay personal expenses, attorneys’ fees and give money to relatives; and none of the victims’ money was actually invested,” said Hanaway.

According to testimony presented at trial, Kermit Kingsley Hall and Joseph G. Cooper operated the Kingsley Trust from offices located at 5494 Brown Road, Hazelwood, Missouri. Hall and Cooper solicited investments in the Kingsley Trust based on false representations about the safety of investments in the trust. Their website falsely described investments in the Trust as “guaranteed deposits that post annual rates twice the norm,” and contained the assertion that they erase the guesswork with “principal guarantee.” The Trust brochures falsely stated that “deposited amounts are guaranteed with interest benefits locked in at the time of deposit.” In addition to misrepresentations about the safety of investments in the Trust, Hall made many misrepresentations about his history in order to make him appear successful, including that he was once a CIA agent and that he owned or was involved in the development of various golf courses with famous golfers such as Jack Nicklaus.

Hall, 58, San Luis Obispo, CA; was convicted of on one felony count of mail fraud and two felony counts of wire fraud. The four-day trail was held before United States District Judge E. Richard Webber. Sentencing has been set for January 9, 2009.

Joseph Cooper, 51, Florissant, MO, previously pled guilty to related charges and awaits sentencing.

Each fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

Hanaway commended the work on the case by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Postal Inspection Service; and Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey Jensen and Reginald Harris, who prosecuted the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

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