The Arizona Corporation Commission has ordered Payson residents Lenard and Lori Toye along with their affiliated companies, Wenima Development, LLC, and I Am America (IAA), to pay $72,000 in restitution and a $20,000 administrative penalty for defrauding an elderly investor.
The Commission found that Mr. and Mrs. Toye sold unregistered securities in Wenima Development, LLC, a company that was to develop a 300-acre parcel of land outside of Springerville, Arizona.
The Commission found that, despite having ceased any meaningful business activity related to developing the land, the Toyes sold investment contracts to the elderly investor without disclosing the failed past performance of the company and the lack of current operations or financial information.
The Commission found the Toyes used the investor’s funds to dine in restaurants, pay for their residence, make car payments and other expenditures consistent with personal use and not for expenses related to real estate development.
According to the Corporation Commission, in settling this matter, the Toyes and their affiliated companies neither admit nor deny the Commission’s findings but agree to the entry of the consent order.