Regulators say a South Texas man faces securities fraud, theft and money laundering charges in a $5 million investment scam in the Alice area.
Jim Wells County jail records show 41-year-old Michael Anthony Collins of Alice was being held Friday on $275,000 bond. Online records don't list an attorney to speak for Collins, who was indicted Monday.
A statement Thursday from the Texas State Securities board says the Collins Financial Group of Alice sold investment plans since 2013.
Collins told investors that he was licensed to sell securities in Texas, but he was last registered in 2008. Collins, who was arrested in August, also failed to disclose that the IRS in 2013 filed a $74,000 tax lien against him and another individual.
Alice is 40 miles west of Corpus Christi.
