Fraud probe nets new indictment

A federal grand jury indicted a second Columbia man on fraud charges stemming from an investigation of the Columbia-based Vertical Group.

Sylvester Mitchell, 35, of Columbia, was named as a co-defendant in the case, in which he and Daryl Brown, 28, are accused of defrauding investors out of more than $900,000.

The new federal indictment accuses Brown and Mitchell of misrepresenting their educational and business credentials and luring investors into buying stand-by letters of credit, an unregistered security, on the guarantee they would make a 20 percent profit after 30 days and another 20 percent profit every week thereafter.

Brown had already been charged with 12 counts of fraud and money laundering. The new indictment names Brown in two of the original counts and adds a new count of criminal conspiracy against both Brown and Mitchell.

The FBI, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Missouri Secretary of State’s Securities Section conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzales is prosecuting the case.