Colorado Developer Sentenced in Securities Fraud Case

Colorado Springs, COColorado Springs resident Adam Kelepolo was recently given a 10-year community corrections sentence and ordered to pay $820,000 in restitution for committing securities fraud, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">According to the news source, Kelepolo was accused of defrauding investors in a scheme that raised more than a million dollars for housing developments in Colorado. Attorney General John Suthers said that the 38-year-old Kelepolo used thousands of investors' dollars for loan payments and gambling.

Kelepolo was reportedly the president and CEO of Lion Gate Homes, which sought to construct a number of homes in Broadmoor Bluffs, the indictment said. Between 2005 and 2007, Kelepolo allegedly withdrew more than $95,000 from Lion Gate accounts at casinos in Cripple Creek and used $44,000 for other personal expenses.

"The judge's stiff sentences in these cases underline the toll investment scams can inflict on consumers," Suthers said in a statement. "I have made the prosecution of securities fraud cases one of the focal points of my tenure in office."

Suthers was appointed Attorney General of Colorado on January 4, 2005, according to the AG's Web site.