Georgia Man Arrested on Securities Fraud Charges for Allegedly Bilking $2 Million
From 21 Newton County Citizens

ATLANTA …Secretary of State Cathy Cox today announced the arrest of a Georgia man charged with securities fraud for selling fraudulent promissory notes to 21 Newton County citizens. 

Ulys “Randy” Riner, 58, of Covington, was arrested last week on multiple violations of the Georgia Securities Act. He was booked into the Newton County jail and released after paying a $25,000 bond.

A Newton County Grand Jury indicted Riner last month on 39 counts relating to the sale of unregistered investments through his company Express Factors, Inc., – securities in the form of promissory notes to 21 Georgia investors. Riner told investors he would use their funds to purchase the accounts receivables on government contracts at a discount and then receive a full return when the contracts were completed – a financial strategy called “factoring.”

Instead of “factoring” government contracts, Riner allegedly used investors' money to advance unsecured funds to a number of businesses without the investors' consent. Once these businesses began to fail, Riner allegedly used funds from new investors – also known as a “Ponzi Scheme” - to conceal the losses. Several investors lost their life savings. 

 Many of the investors were close friends who trusted Riner when he assured them their investments were safe and that they could withdraw their money at any time. Investments allegedly ranged from $2,000 from Riner’s minister to over $650,000.None of the investment offerings were registered with the Secretary of State’s Securities Division pursuant to the Georgia Securities Act of 1973.  In addition, Riner allegedly omitted to disclose material facts and made untrue statements to investors.

“I applaud our investigators and Newton County District Attorney Ken Wynne for their efforts in securing an indictment in this case ensuring Mr. Riner will face the charges against him,” said Secretary of State Cathy Cox.