Ohio Man Charged with Defrauding Investors

PITTSBURGH—A resident of East Liverpool, Ohio, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of wire fraud, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The 13-count indictment, returned on July 24, named Daniel P. Lucas, 48, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, the defendant defrauded three investors by representing that he was a successful currency trader and obtaining $78,000 from them for this purpose and thereafter retaining and spending more than $49,000 for his own purposes, while earning no profits for investors and incurring more than $28,000 in currency trading loses.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence at each count of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Leo M. Dillon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.