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DENVER -- Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced Wednesday that his office has obtained an indictment from the statewide Grand Jury against three men suspected of running a $5.7 million investment-fraud scheme.

Phillip R. Trujillo, 50, David M. Piatt, 40, and Timothy B. Burk, 48, are suspected of defrauding 70 investors with promises that their investments in PTV 22, PTV 33 and PTV 44 would be free from risk and would generate generous returns.

The trio also is suspected of failing to fully inform their customers of exactly how their money would be invested and used.

“Since the collapse of the financial markets, consumers have been looking for quick ways to rebuild their retirement funds and investment portfolios. Scammers prey on these consumers’ wishes to be made whole again,” Suthers said. “When consumers are presented with ‘investment opportunities’ promising little or no risk and big rewards, they should be aware that there are no sure things in the investment world.”

According to the indictment, Trujillo did not disclose to their investors what their investments were actually being used to fund unsecured promissory notes and to then help pay legal fees related to those notes once they were in default. Trujillo also is suspected of failing to disclose commissions paid and personal loans he issued to himself using investors’ funds.

Piatt and Burk, who ran investment seminars and solicited investments in Trujillo’s PTV funds, also are suspected of failing to disclose how consumers’ funds would be used.

Prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General will present their case against Trujillo, Piatt and Burk in a Larimer County District Court. Trujillo resides in Loveland. Piatt and Burk reside in Glendale.

Those who believe they may have been defrauded in a securities scam can contact the Office of the Attorney General at 303-866-4500 and ask to speak to a securities fraud investigator, or call the Colorado Division of Securities (303-894-232) and the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (1-800-732-0330 or 202-772-9295).

Information provided by the Office of Colorado Attorney John Suthers.