GREELEY, CO – APRIL 6: The Weld County Courthouse in downtown Greeley on April 6, 2022. (Alex McIntyre/Staff Photographer)
A local businessman accused of embezzling more than $3 million from investors will need more time to find legal representation after appearing in court Thursday.
Annie Vick, 61, also known as Annie Velasquez or Annie Margaret, appeared virtually before Judge Allison Esser to set the stage, as Vick struggled to find representation. , had to change locations on May 7th. Setting up includes scheduling future court dates and making sure all parties are ready for the case.
Vick said one lawyer canceled a meeting with her and another was too busy to work on her case. She added that she will have a second meeting with potential representatives next week.
Mr. Vick, who founded the Pinocchio chain in northern Colorado, which includes Pinocchio Incredible Italian at 905 16th St. and Pinocchio Prime at 804 804th St. in Greeley, was initially charged with 10 securities fraud cases. He was arrested on February 1st on suspicion. She established her first store in Longmont in 2003, but is no longer involved in her day-to-day operations. The Loveland store has been closed for several months.
According to an arrest affidavit, police allege that Vick solicited money from investors without disclosing the risks involved or the losses incurred, even though he did not have a license to sell securities. ing. Police said she used some of the investment money she solicited to pay off her previous investors, as well as to pay for restaurant expenses, credit card payments and for personal purposes.
Vick strongly denied embezzlement, saying he had never used investors’ funds for anything other than investing. She also said her investors knew she was unregistered and understood her risks, but she encouraged her to invest for them anyway. .
According to police, in 2018, Vick began soliciting investments in personal stock option transactions by promising monthly interest payments of 5% to 10%. She raised over $250,000 in investments, along with her personal funds, before founding her AMV Investments in August 2019.
Police said Vick registered AMV as a Colorado limited liability company, but did not initially open a bank account for AMV Investments, instead diverting AMV investors’ funds to his own personal brokerage accounts, personal funds and restaurant funds. It is said that they were playing pool.
According to police, three months after Vick registered AMV Investments as a limited liability company, she received more than $200,000 from four investors, but did not open a brokerage account with AMV Investments. . When she finally did so, investigators discovered that less than 4% of all investment funds were initially transferred to AMV Investments brokerage accounts.
Records show Vick suffered total losses of more than $600,000 in 2018 and more than $520,000 in 2020. From October 2019 to May 2020, she lost $967,000.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation into Vick in June 2020. He told the SEC in October 2020 that he would no longer solicit investments.
Investigators say from that point on, Vick solicited nearly $300,000 from investors, but she did not invest. Police said she used her funds to pay monthly interest to other investors, for her restaurant business and for personal use.
Vic said he had no intention of trading securities for anyone, and just wanted to teach his friends how to make their own money so they could invest on their own.
After trying and failing to teach them, they decided to pool their money in a way she likened to a hedge fund, she said. Vic will continue to invest as before, but with a larger investment pool, she continued, she will be able to leverage their purchasing power.
In a case of “obviously bad judgment”, Vick was convinced he had done nothing wrong because he was only trading for his friends and family, he said. She added that she was surprised to hear that she was charged with crimes other than unauthorized trading.
Vick’s new trial is scheduled for May 7 at 10 a.m. in Weld District Court.
