Consent agreement reached over securities fraud
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A Russiaville woman has reached a consent agreement with the Indiana Secretary of State’s office regarding allegations of securities fraud.
The agreement states that insurance agent Ashley Wyrick sold nearly $1.1 million worth of fraudulent securities to Indiana investors, while also not being licensed to sell securities.
Wyrick is a licensed insurance agent who at one time sold insurance products as an independent contractor for Rossville-based Gangwer Insurance Agency Inc., which also has an office in Russiaville. She used her affiliation with the company to then sell unregistered securities for the Woodbridge Group of Companies, the agreement said.
Woodbridge operated a Ponzi scheme that bilked about 7,000 investors out of more than $1.2 billion. The company’s CEO, Robert Shapiro, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2019 after pleading guilty.
According to the consent agreement, Wyrick sold $1,064,409 worth of Woodbridge securities to 13 Indiana investors and received nearly $35,000 in commissions from Woodbridge.
The sales took place between 2016 and 2018. The Securities Division of the Indiana Secretary of State’s office alleged that Wyrick’s efforts violated the Indiana Uniform Securities Act (IUSA).
As part of the consent agreement, Wyrick has agreed to pay a total of nearly $22,500 in restitution to six of the victims. She is also permanently barred from selling securities in Indiana.
Six other investors filed a lawsuit in March 2020 in Howard Superior Court against Wyrick and Gangwer Insurance. In January 2023, Judge Brant Parry issued a partial summary judgment on behalf of the plaintiffs.
The case went into mediation and a settlement was reached in March. In an April 16 filing, both parties said they will work to fulfill certain obligations of the settlement before Sept. 13, at which point they will file a joint request to dismiss the lawsuit.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
