Daryl Miles Brown, 31, of Columbia, Missouri, was convicted by a jury Friday for his role in a multi-million dollar investment fraud and for participating in a money-laundering conspiracy. Brown, who was the chairman of The Vertical Group and a principal of Cerberus, Inc., both located in Missouri, had been indicted in late 2005 on 11 counts of wire fraud and travel fraud. A superseding indictment added a money laundering charge. The allegations involved an investment scheme to sell investments in high-yield, short-term investments that were unavailable to the general public known as “Stand By Letters of Credit” or “SBLCs.” Brown and his co-conspirators promised investors returns of 20 - 40 percent. The instruments did not exist and investors lost some $2 million. Brown was accused of a number of false representations, including that he was licensed by the SEC and NASD and that he was a former Kansas City Chief's football player. Instead of a real investment, the funds were used to perpetuate Brown's lavish lifestyle. His two co-conspirators were Sylvester L. Mitchell III, 38, of Columbia, Missouri, who pleaded guilty in March 2007 to similar charges, and Dennis Cole, 59, of Clearwater, Florida, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in a separate indictment in 2006. Brown faces more than 200 years in prison.Read the indictment here.
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