EDMOND — A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City accuses an Edmond man of wire fraud, money laundering and mail fraud in an alleged investment scheme, according to court records.

According to the indictment a notice was to be issued to the defendant, Gregory Scot Conrady, 52, of Edmond. Bond in the amount of $10,000 was recommended.

The defendant was a principal member of Coltate Properties, Onyx Financial Group and Silverstreak, according to the seven-count indictment released Wednesday by the U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma.

In April 2007, the defendant solicited the financial backing of the victim in a purported investment opportunity, according to the indictment. Upon the victim’s agreement to do so he and the defendant formed Coltate Capital to buy portfolios of distressed debt for pennies on the dollar and then attempt to collect on the debt, the indictment states.

The debt portfolios consisted primarily of promissory notes secured by second mortgages on residential properties, according to the indictment. The victim invested more than $10 million in Coltate Capital, which the defendant directly managed, the indictment states.

Acting for Coltate Capital, the defendant hired a separate company, Onyx Financial, to collect the debts in Coltate Capital’s portfolio; Onyx Financial was owned and operated by the defendant, according to the indictment.

By contrast, all gross receipts from Coltate Capital-owned assets were to be deposited into Coltate Capital’s bank account on a monthly basis, according to the indictment. Any collection fee due to Onyx Financial was to be paid out of Coltate Capital’s bank account to Onyx Financial’s bank account, the indictment stated.

The defendant used debt brokers to locate debt portfolios for Coltate Capital to buy, according to the indictment.

In Counts 1-4 the grand jury alleges that from November 2007 to April 2010 the defendant knowingly devised, intended to devise and executed a scheme to defraud the victim.

When the defendant requested money from the victim to fund Coltate Capital’s purchase of certain debt portfolios he reported the broker’s fee as being substantially higher than what he had actually negotiated with the broker, the grand jury alleges.

Once the funds were received by Coltate Capital via wire from the victim, the defendant would buy the debt portfolio and pay the broker the actual negotiated fee, but then divert the excess funds to bank accounts held by the defendant’s personal companies (Coltate Properties and Silverstreak), the grand jury alleges.

As a result of the scheme to defraud, the defendant defrauded the victim of about $77,302.98, the grand jury alleges.

In Count 5, after receiving the wire funds from the victim, the defendant wired $60,000 to the debt package broker, according to the indictment. However, the actual broker’s fee was $50,000, the grand jury alleges. The defendant then contacted the broker and claimed that the $60,000 wire had been a mistake, and he gave the broker instructions to wire back the extra $10,000, the grand jury alleges. He then instructed the victim to wire the funds to Coltate Properties, his personal company, rather than Coltate Capital, the company owned by both the defendant and the victim, the grand jury alleges.

In Count 6, in February 2008 the defendant caused a withdrawal in the amount of $27,176.35 from Silverstreak’s bank account at a bank in Oklahoma City by writing a check for that amount to RCD Holdings after these funds had been derived from wire fraud, the grand jury alleges.

In Count 7, certain mortgage payments received through the mail by Onyx Financial were intercepted by the defendant, deposited directly into Onyx Financial’s bank account rather than Coltate Capital’s bank account and subsequently withdrawn by the defendant for his own personal benefit, the grand jury alleges.

In Count 8, the grand jury alleges the defendant bought a cashier’s check for $20,000 made out to Scott Trade after these funds had been derived from mail fraud.

The defendant did not have defense counsel. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial during which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted in Counts 1-4 and Count 7 of the indictment, the government seeks forfeiture of $688,049.81, representing the amount of proceeds allegedly obtained from the offenses.

If convicted, the defendant potentially faces both prison time and fines.



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