LEESBURG — A Leesburg man has been arrested after it was discovered that he was conning local residents out of large amounts of money since 2013.

Ronald Thomas Miller

Ronald Thomas Miller, 54, 6806 E. May Lane, Leesburg, is being charged with securities fraud, a class C felony; corrupt business influence, a class C felony; money laundering, a class D felony; and three counts of theft, all class D felonies.

On Feb. 7, an officer with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department began an investigation into securities fraud involving Miller as the suspect and four victims.

The officer met with the one of the victims, Victim A. Victim A advised he had been contacted by Miller for an investment opportunity. Miller presented himself to be a licensed stockbroker. Victim A and his girlfriend, Victim B, met with Miller on Jan. 10, 2013 in Syracuse. During this meeting, Miller discussed making an investment for Victim A and provided a reference to vouch for his services.

On Jan. 11, 2013, the three met again at Victim B’s residence. Victim B provided a cashier’s check for $25,000 to Miller. Miller advised he would invest the money in pre IPO Bloom/Fisker. The check was endorsed, “Ron Miller.”

Victim A advised that on Jan. 24, 2014, Miller returned and told the couple he needed an additional $5,000 to keep the investment alive and that it would cause a double multiplier in the money. Victim B wrote a check for the $5,000 to Miller.

On May 27, 2014, Miller contacted Victim B stating that he was switching the investment and she needed to pay the bank fees. Victim B provided Miller with an additional check for $6,000. Both checks were written from Victim B’s Wells Fargo Checking account and endorsed pay to the order of Law Office of Peter G Hallam.

On Jan. 14, 2013, Victim C decided to invest with Miller, who again presented himself as a licensed broker. Victim C wrote Miller a cashier’s check for $25,000 from his PNC bank account. The check was later endorsed by Greg Farrell.

On Jan. 17, 2013, Victim D also decided to invest with Miller. Victim D provided Miller with a Bank of America cashier’s check for $50,000.

Victim A was able to provide the officer with copies of agreements between Miller and the victims.

The officer then spoke with Tina McGuire, who advised she had been in a relationship with Miller from 2010 through 2015. According to the affidavit of probable cause, she opened a savings account on Feb. 8, 2011 for Miller at Farmers State Bank. Miller then deposited $150,000 into the account.

McGuire told the officer that she would take $9,000 a week out of the account and place it in a safe deposit box that she opened at First Federal Bank. She would then remove the money from the safe deposit box when Miller wanted it until all the money was gone.

The officer spoke with Peter Hallam from Peter Hallam Law Office who advised Miller was a client with him over some real estate property issues a few years ago. He advised that on Jan. 24, 2014, Miller gave him a check for $5,000 and a check for $6,000 on May 27, 2014, both of which were Victim B’s checks. Miller gave an additional check for $7,500 and all were used as a retainer.

Hallam advised that he provided Miller with $1,000 worth of service. Hallam then provided Miller a check for the remaining funds provided, totaling $17,500.

The officer then spoke with Greg Farrell. Farrell advised that in 2012 he was conned into investing $4,000 with Miller. He attempted to contact Miller for months with no success. In January 2013, Miller contacted Farrell and gave him a cashier’s check for $25,000 and told him to take the money out for his 2012 investment and give the rest back. Farrell gave Miller $20,000 from the check. The officer obtained a copy of the cashier’s check and discovered it belonged to Victim C.

According to the affidavit or probable cause, the officer then spoke with Miller. Miller admitted that he was not a licensed broker. He told the officer he invested the money in a New York First Capital account under his own name. The officer conducted a search to locate New York First Capital and was unable to locate an investment company with that name.

Miller was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on Feb. 27 with a $75,250 cash bond.