A 39-year-old Chandler man has been indicted after it was alleged he scammed at least 54 people out of more than $5.6 million through an investment fraud scheme, authorities said this week.

A federal grand jury in Phoenix returned the 19-count indictment against Anthonie Ruinard, Jr. for wire fraud and transactional money laundering, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona.

The indictment appears to be separate from Ruinard Jr.'s second-degree murder and abandonment of a dead body charges, filed by the county attorney in April in connection with the June 2023 death of Parker League, 18, of eastern Nebraska. League's body was found in the rubble of a bonfire pit at Bulldog Canyon in the Tonto National Forest along Bush Highway, northeast of Apache Junction.

This month's indictment alleges Ruinard operated under the guise of a business called Legacy Investors Group Inc.

“Ruinard falsely portrayed himself as a successful investor worth over $470 million. He promised victim-investors guaranteed rates of return - generally 5% to 6% per month - through investments in venture capital, private equity and real estate,” the release stated.

While some of the early victim-investors received some initial payments "to perpetuate the fraud," officials said, others lost their entire investment.

Ruinard largely used the victims’ money for himself, including on luxury vehicles, including the purchase of an armored vehicle for $344,000, general living expenses, casino gambling, credit card payments and rental expenses, according to the release.

A conviction for wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or both. A conviction for transactional money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

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