Former FBI agent from Montrose indicted for fraud

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - A Montrose man and former FBI agent has now been indicted for defrauding investors.

A federal jury indicted 61-year-old Jeffrey Royer of Montrose. The indictment was unsealed today and charged Royer with one count of commodities fraud and one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment Royer was a Special Agent with the FBI from 1996 to 2001. In 2005 he was convicted of federal securities fraud and was eventually released from prison in 2012.

The indictment also listed from 2020 to 2023 Royer committed a wire fraud scheme through a forex trading account. Through the duration of the scheme Royer accepted over $1 million from investors in Michigan. The indictment also showed Royer misappropriated the money and never disclosed the full amount he lost.

Royer allegedly concealed the financial loss from investors with fake monthly account statements. The fake statements showed investment gains and not the trading losses.

Law enforcement has already identified many of the investors from southeast Michigan.

If found guilty of the charges, Royer may face up to 25 years in prison for commodities fraud and up to 20 years for wire fraud.