Houston man arrested in $5M investment scam

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A 75-year-old Houston man is accused of running a $5 million investment fraud scheme involving more than 50 victims.

Allan George Cooper told us he had, "nothing to say," on his way out of the federal courthouse Tuesday afternoon. He's charged with a total of ten counts of mail and wire fraud. Prosecutors say he was running a fraud scheme, promising low-risk, high return investments on things like short-term loans or gaming investments.

According to prosecutors, Cooper mailed misleading statements to investors indicating their funds were earning more than 11 percent in legitimate investments. Investigators say he also misrepresented the value of his company, AG Cooper and Associates.

Instead of doing what he promised, Cooper is accused of taking other people's money and using it for his own expenses and credit card bills, or putting it into other companies he controlled. According to the indictment, for a period of time, Cooper did pay some investors what he called a return on investments or interest earned. Prosecutors say that was just a return of the victims' own money, or money from other victims.

This is not Cooper's first time being linked to a crime. He has a past theft conviction and served time last year on a contempt of court charge, related to a civil case. Prosecutors say Cooper was arrested without incident on Tuesday.

He was released on $50,000 bail and asked for a court-appointed attorney because of his financial situation.