Apr.12, 2010

EDMOND — An Edmond man pled guilty Monday to laundering $1 million of investor funds and faces up to 10 years in prison.

Mark S. Trimble, 44, of Edmond, pled guilty to money laundering arising from the operation of Phidippides Capital Management, where he diverted $1 million in investor funds to his own account, announced Sanford C. Coats, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Trimble owned and operated Phidippides Capital Management, an Oklahoma limited liability company with offices in Edmond and Oklahoma City. 

According to court records, on May 9, 2007, an investor who gave Trimble $2 million was told it would be invested in various securities through Phidippides, and the funds were deposited into the bank account of Phidippides. Five days later, Trimble transferred $1 million of the funds to his personal bank account, according to court documents. Then, on May 17, 2007, Trimble transferred that $1 million to his personal investment account, the documents state.

At sentencing, Trimble faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be set in about 90 days.

The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Criminal Investigative Division of the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Cox.

Trimble and Phidippides also have been named as defendants in a civil action brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a federal case filed in the Western District of Oklahoma.