Atlanta Exec Bleeds Investors Dry in $7M Fraud

ATLANTA – Craig Allen, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, is facing federal charges after allegedly orchestrating a multi-million-dollar investment fraud that ripped off dozens of investors nationwide. The executive officer of C.M. Allen Capital Management, Inc., stands accused of running a deceptive scheme that funneled over $7 million into his personal coffers, according to a Department of Justice indictment unsealed today.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan didn’t mince words: “Allen abused his clients’ trust by allegedly stealing millions of dollars to support his lavish lifestyle.” The indictment details a calculated effort to deceive investors through falsified documents and fabricated account statements, creating a false sense of financial security while the fund, known as Cheetah, steadily lost money. The scheme allegedly operated by using funds from new investors to pay off earlier ones – a classic hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.

The alleged fraud centered around the Cheetah Fund. Around February 2019, prospective investors were presented with documents boasting annual investment returns as high as seventy-three percent. Once lured in, clients received monthly statements falsely reporting gains, along with tax documents that Allen allegedly misrepresented as being prepared by an independent auditor. However, the indictment reveals that Cheetah had no auditor, and the reported gains were entirely fabricated.

“While it is easy to dismiss financial fraud cases as being almost benign because of their lack of violence, there is, however, a very real victimization felt and lives are changed forever,” stated Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. The FBI is leading the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has filed a separate civil case, SEC v. Craig Allen, Case Number 1:24-cv-01771-SDG.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on February 23, 2024, alleges that Allen not only misled investors about the fund’s performance but also used their money to fund a luxurious lifestyle. The total loss to Cheetah investors exceeds $7 million. Allen is currently presumed innocent and will face trial where the government bears the burden of proving his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Cooper and Christopher J. Huber are prosecuting the case. Anyone with further information is encouraged to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. More information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga. This case serves as a stark reminder that white-collar crime carries devastating consequences, and those who prey on investors will be held accountable.