U .S. DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF N .H .

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FLCD

DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

2~09 f~, ;: = ~D 7: 5 3

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

V .

COLIN P . LINDSEY

Cr . No . 09-CR- SoZ -01-O-D

INFORMATION

THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY charges that at all times relevant

to this Information :

Background

1 . The defendant, COLIN P . LINDSEY, was the founder, owner ,

president and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Noble Trust

Company ("NTC"), a non-depository financial institution that was

chartered under the laws of the State of New Hampshire . NTC

provided investment advice and executed investment decisions on

behalf of its customers, to whom LINDSEY owed a fiduciary duty .

2 . From approximately June 2004 to approximately September

2007, a number of NTC's customers' funds were held in a product

that was created and managed by LINDSEY, the Noble Alternative

Income Fund ("NAIF") . Each client for whom an NAIF account was

established ("NAIF account holder") was told by LINDSEY that their

money would be invested in an account that was earning annual

interest payments of at least 12 percent, which, at the account

holder's option, would be paid on a periodic basis or as a lump sum

when the account was closed . Each NAIF account holder paid an

annual management fee to NTC .

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3 . LINDSEY caused account statements to be prepared and

mailed to NAIF account holders four times each year . The general

purpose for each statement was to identify transactions that

occurred in an account during the period covered by the statement,

and to state the current market value of the account at the end of

the period covered by the statement .

4 . LINDSEY used funds held in the NAIF to make separate

loans to a company in Colorado, Sierra Factoring, Inc . ("Sierra") .

Reportedly, Sierra used the loans it received from NTC to purchase

accounts receivable from other companies and to make loans to small

businesses . In general, in exchange for each fixed term, 12

percent loan, Sierra paid a one-time up-front commission to NTC .

5 . The promissory notes Sierra issued to NTC for each loan

obligated Sierra to make periodic loan repayments to NTC . If

Sierra had fulfilled its obligations under the notes, NTC would

have used the money it received from Sierra to make interest

payments to NAIF account holders .

6 . During the first several months of NTC's relationship

with Sierra, Sierra received loans in excess of $15 million from

NTC, more than 75% of NTC's overall business . Unbeknownst to the

NAIF account holders, Sierra's financial condition was unstable and

deteriorating and, within a short period of time, its payments to

NTC were partial and/or not made on time .

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7 . Sierra made its last payment to NTC in August 2006 .

During the next several months, NTC's ability to make payments to

existing NAIF account holders was severely compromised .

Thereafter, from approximately October 2006 to approximately

September 2007, LINDSEY used approximately $781,000 that belonged

to some of NTC's new customers to make payments to existing NAIF

account holders, without disclosing the impaired nature of the new

customers' investments, in violation of the fiduciary duty he owed

to them .

COUNT ONE

Mail Fraud - 18 U.S .C . 91341

8 . The allegations of paragraphs 1 through 7 of this

Information are re-alleged and incorporated as if set forth in full

herein .

9 . From approximately October 2006 to approximately

September 2007, in the District of New Hampshire and elsewhere, the

defendant,

COLIN P . LINDSEY,

knowingly and willfully devised a scheme and artifice to obtain

money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations

and promises and, for the purpose of executing the scheme, caused

mail matter to be delivered according to the directions thereon by

the United States Postal Service, in violation of 18 U .S .C . §1341 .

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10 . During that time, LINDSEY concealed the fact that new

customers' money was used to make payments to existing NAIF account

holders - in violation of the fiduciary duty that he owed to the

new clients - by causing misleading quarterly account statements to

be mailed to each new client, which falsely reported that the

current market value of each account was at least equal to the

amount of money that was originally placed into the account ;

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sectio n

1341 .

COUNT TWO

Mail Fraud - 18 U .S .C . §134 1

11 . The allegations of paragraph 1 through 7 of this

Information are re-alleged and incorporated as if set in full

herein .

12 . LINDSEY was also the owner of an insurance agency in

Manchester, New Hampshire, Balcarres, LLC ("Balcarres") . Through

Balcarres, LINDSEY sold high value life insurance policies ("high

value policies") for Phoenix Life Insurance Company, AXA Insurance

Company and Penn Life Insurance Company ("the insurance

companies") .

13 . The face value of a high value policy was between $5

million and $10 million . To qualify for a high value policy a

person must, among other things, be at least 70 years old and have

a personal financial net worth that is at least equal to the valu e

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of the policy he intends to purchase . To acquire a high value

policy, an applicant must also agree to pay premiums to the

insurance company that total several hundred thousand dollars each

year .

14 . when a customer of Balcarres purchased a high value

policy, the insurance company paid an up-front commission to

Balcarres that was equal to 80t to 112t of the premium for the

first year of the policy .

15 . From in and around November 2006 to in and around July

2007, in the District of New Hampshire and elsewhere, the

defendant,

COLIN P . LINDSEY ,

knowingly and willfully devised a scheme and artifice to obtain

money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations

and promises and, for the purpose of executing the scheme, caused

mail matter to be delivered according to the directions thereon by

the United States Postal Service, in violation of 18 U .S .C . §1341 .

16 . During that time, LINDSEY acquired twelve high value

policies for customers of Balcarres by knowingly mailing documents

to the insurance companies that contained materially false and

fraudulent statements regarding the personal financial net worth of

each applicant . Through that conduct, LINDSEY caused the insurance

companies to pay commissions to Balcarres that totaled more than

$5 .5 million . LINDSEY used the commissions that were paid to

Balcarres to make payments that NTC owed to NAIF account holders ;

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All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sectio n

1341 .

Dated : March 5, 2009

Thomas P . Colantuono

United States Attorne y

~" 1rui.,,~ ~' 1~✓t~~ By :

Robert M . Kinsella

Assistant United States Attorney

Elizabeth Bake

-ZAI~ , G r"

Special Assistant United States Attorne y

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