By Sharon Coolidge
and James McNair
The Cincinnati Enquirer

An investment adviser who held seminars and offered financial advice on his radio show has been barred from the business and is accused of swindling clients.

Criminal charges allege Perrin Burse swindled a man out of $900,000 he earned throughout his life and a civil lawsuit says he took another $50,000 from a woman who asked him to help diversify her investments.

A Hamilton County grand jury indicted Burse, chief executive of Burse Investment Advisory Group, Thursday on charges of aggravated theft and forgery. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

"He holds himself out as a person qualified to give investment advice," said lawyer John M. Williams, who represents Sandra Allen, the woman suing Burse. "He preys on people who are willing to help a small proprietor. This is what they get in return - they get to lose their life savings."

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen, no relation to Sandra Allen, said there might be more victims.

Burse, 37, of Roselawn, was a member of the Enquirer's Portfolio Panel in 2001 and formerly had a Sunday night investment show on WDBZ-AM (1230), The Buzz. He conducted investment workshops through the African American Chamber of Commerce and was a member of Raymond Walters College's Community Advisory Council.

Burse did not return a call left at his home or a message left with his wife.

Thursday's indictment alleges Burse took $150,000 from a Procter & Gamble employee after taking over management of the man's money in 1998.

Prosecutors say Burse, whose business was located downtown, subsequently drained the man's accounts of $900,000, leaving him with nothing. Much of the money was lost through investments in phony companies and mismanagement of his IRA, according to prosecutors.

In a separate case, Sandra Allen, of Madisonville, sued Burse in April, accusing him of taking $50,000 from her, promising to invest it with a guaranteed 36 percent return. He has never paid her back, she said in the civil suit.

Sandra Allen said she met Burse after hearing him on The Buzz during a financial program in which he solicited listeners to call him during or after the program to discuss financial planning.

She called Burse, who she said in the lawsuit described himself as a licensed financial adviser with a great deal of experience in money managing. After meeting with him in May 2003, Sandra Allen gave Burse the $50,000.

Burse let his investment adviser registration expire with the Securities and Exchange Commission the previous Dec. 31. He also was investigated by the National Association of Securities Dealers for his handling of the P&G employee's account.

The NASD said Burse sold him mutual funds that generated $90,058 in sales commissions and, in April 2000, sold him a $1.16 million variable life insurance policy that cost $34,000 in annual premiums for 44 years until maturing when he reached 95. If he didn't live to 95, the policy called for a death payout of $100,000.

Burse did not respond to the NASD's allegations, and a default decision was entered against him April 28. The NASD ruled that Burse had made unsuitable investment recommendations to the P&G worker, that he forged his signature on 30 of the client's documents and failed to respond to the NASD's requests for information. It barred him for life from associating with any firms belonging to the NASD.

Burse has been in business locally for almost a decade, said DeAsa Brown, who heads the African American Chamber of Commerce. Burse Investment Advisory Group was a member of the chamber.

"He was highly regarded and seemed to have lots of clients," she said. She described Burse as a nice man who was active in the community.

E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com and jmcnair@enquirer.com