Executive Summary
- A federal grand jury in Wichita indicted three men for conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.
- The Kansas Department of Insurance described the operation as a “massive Ponzi Scheme.”
- Former Premier Global Corp. CEO Steve Parish faces additional charges including money laundering and securities fraud.
- The investigation involved the FBI and securities regulators from Kansas and Oklahoma.
WICHITA, Kan. — A federal grand jury in Wichita has returned an indictment against three men accused of orchestrating a complex fraud conspiracy involving falsified investment records, according to an announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday.
Federal prosecutors identified the defendants as Steve Parish, 54, formerly of Derby, Kansas; Richard Dean, 66, of Plano, Texas; and Joshua Owen, 39, of Derby. All three individuals have been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. According to court filings, the men are accused of misrepresenting payments made to investors as profits, when the funds were allegedly sourced from other investors’ contributions.
Investigators stated that Parish served as the CEO of Premier Global Corp., an investment company that also employed Owen. Dean reportedly owned a separate entity, DDI Advisory Group LLC. The Kansas Department of Insurance has characterized the alleged operation as a “massive Ponzi Scheme.”
In addition to the conspiracy charge, the indictment lists numerous specific counts against the defendants. Parish faces 18 counts of securities fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, two counts of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Dean is charged with 18 counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Owen faces additional charges of two counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud.
The investigation is being conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Kansas Department of Insurance’s Securities Division, and the Oklahoma Department of Securities.
Legal Procedural Outlook
The return of this indictment initiates formal federal criminal proceedings against the accused. Cases involving allegations of “Ponzi” structures and securities fraud often entail complex financial discovery and lengthy pre-trial phases due to the volume of transactional evidence required to prove the flow of funds. If convicted on the multiple counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering, the defendants could face substantial federal prison sentences and significant financial restitution orders. It is important to note that an indictment is merely a formal accusation, and all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
