Arizona Man Charged with Defrauding over 200 out of $20M

By Aaron Poehler

Published on November 15, 2007

Vilan, 49, is accused of posing as a registered securities dealer and making false promises of annual returns of 36 percent to 48 percent to his victims, who were each required to make a minimum investment of $100,000, totaling nearly $20 million. The indictment follows a joint investigation between the Arizona Corporation Commission and the Attorney General's Special Investigations which was initiated after the Corporation Commission received complaints that Vilan's company, Saguaro Investments Inc., was dealing securities without being properly registered. Although Vilan was ordered to cease trading activities, he simply retired the Saguaro Investments Inc. name and continued selling investment contracts through another company called Desert Group Investments LLC.

Investigators say Vilan combined investment money with his own funds, then consistently lost money in the stock market while using investors' funds for personal use, including the purchase of several luxury cars and at least two lavish homes. False "interest payments" were made to victims out of newly invested funds obtained by Vilan, who has provided no information on what was done with millions of dollars obtained from investors in recent months.

If convicted on all charges, Vilan could face over 50 years in prison.

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