Robert Burton Charged with Securities Fraud in Coordination with President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force

Federal charges against a man were unsealed after his arrest on securities fraud charges.

Robert Burton, 36, the managing director of Pinnacle Financial Consulting LLC, Pinnacle Strategic Investments LLC, and the Pinnacle Asset and Capital Management Group LLC, was arrested after being charged for promoting various high-yield investments through Promissory Notes and Offering Memoranda. According to the complaint, Burton represented that he would return the principal invested within approximately 30 days, along with an interest payment equal to 100 percent of the amount invested. Burton did not make the promised payments and, in some instances, provided investors with checks that ultimately bounced.

The statutory maximum penalties for the securities fraud charges are 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and a $5 million fine. Burton made an initial court appearance and will appear for a detention hearing on September 4 at 11:30 a.m.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, which has a civil case pending against Burton, cooperated with the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Walters of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.gov.