Lake Mary Man Pleads Guilty to $10.3M Investment Fraud

Irwin Charles Ager (84, Lake Mary) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, admitting his role in a sprawling $10.3 million investment scam that left more than 200 victims duped and financially gutted. The announcement, made by U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, confirms Ager now faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 17, 2017.

Ager operated as a Marketing Director for Tri-Med Associates, the promotional engine behind Tri-Med Corporation, a company that claimed to profit from purchasing medical receivables tied to personal injury lawsuits. He personally solicited investors and managed a network of sales agents who pushed the so-called ‘safe’ investment program. Investors were promised security through trust accounts and legal documentation, but those assurances were built on lies.

The fraud centered on the false premise that investor funds would be used to buy real medical receivables backed by ‘letters of protection’—legal contracts between patients, attorneys, and medical providers guaranteeing payment from future settlements. Tri-Med claimed investor money would be held in an attorney-controlled trust and secured with ‘Assignment of Interest Certificates.’ None of it was true.

Of the $17 million raised from over 200 investors, only $2.7 million ever reached the supposed trust account. Over $6.5 million was siphoned off to pay sales commissions and enrich Tri-Med operators. Another $2.3 million was funneled back to early investors to create the illusion of profitability. In reality, Tri-Med bought far too few receivables to back the investments and generated fake certificates to keep the scheme alive.

Ager has agreed to pay $10.3 million in restitution, though whether victims will see full repayment remains uncertain. His brother, Eric Leon Ager (78, Stuart), is also charged in the conspiracy and faces the same 20-year maximum sentence. Eric Ager’s trial is set for February 2017, and prosecutors allege the brothers worked in tandem to expand the fraud.

The case was jointly investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn P. Napier and Roger B. Handberg. With Ager’s guilty plea, federal authorities are sending a message: even in white-collar circles, the fall from deception is long and hard.

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