State seeks $2M judgment from Lowell

SANDPOINT — The Idaho Department of Finance is seeking a default judgment of nearly $2.1 million against a former Bonner County man accused of bilking investors through a stock-option Ponzi scheme.

The judgment would also permanently forbid Dale Edward Lowell from selling or offering securities for sale in Idaho.

Idaho Deputy Attorney General Alan Conilogue moved for a default judgment on Monday because Lowell has not answered or otherwise defended against the state’s lawsuit, according to documents filed in 1st District Court.

Dale Lowell, 57, was sued by the state in July, after relocating to Colbert, Wash. The longtime real estate agent began soliciting investors to join “Dale’s Investment Club” in 2005.

The state alleged that Lowell falsely boasted that his investment opportunity was risk-free and otherwise backed by his personal assets. Lowell also claimed that he had a successful background in options trading, but in reality had lost money trading securities every year since 2002, the suit said.

Lowell, the state said, also failed to advise later investors that their funds would be used to pay returns to earlier investors, the cornerstone of a Ponzi scheme.

At least 23 investors were ensnared by the swindle, the Department of Finance said.

Lowell ultimately admitted in an e-mail to investors that “99.99% of all representations by me have evolved into being 100% false … I have lied and misrepresented everything,” according to the department.

Lowell caused investor losses of $2,038,376 “at a minimum,” James Burns, the department’s securities investigations chief, said in court documents.

“Although he returned some of the amounts to investors as periodic ‘earnings’ or profit payments, Lowell retained a net amount of $1,616,831.23 from investors,” Burns said in an affidavit which accompanied the state’s motion.

Investigators arrived at those figures by poring over Lowell’s bank and credit union statements, in addition to documents from online brokerage firms TD Ameritrade and OptionsXpress, court records indicate.

Lowell’s 30-year-old son, Luke, is also named as a defendant in the suit. The state alleges he received more than $300,000 in unlawful transfers from his father.

The Department of Finance is also seeking a $40,000 civil penalty against the pair and attorney’s fees of $1,000, resulting in a total judgment request of $2,079,376.

The state intends to use the judgment to make restitution to duped investors.