Young is charged with fraud

Tony Young, a Chester County money manager, was accused Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia of stealing more than $25 million of client money to buy luxury homes and fund a lavish lifestyle.

The grand jury indictment charged Young, 38, with one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. If convicted, Young faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, the federal prosecutor's office said.

"Ponzi schemes are usually a vehicle for an unscrupulous person to live high off of someone else's wealth," U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy said. "According to the indictment, this defendant helped himself to others' fortunes, living a life of luxury, with little or no regard for the damage to our financial markets, our economy, and the reputation of the investment advisers who follow the rules."

Young's attorney, Michael McHugh, of Federal Community Defenders for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, did not return a call seeking comment.

Young, who now lives in Florida, raised more than $95 million from his investors from 1999 through April 2009, when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit against Young and froze his assets, the indictment said.

The indictment also alleged that Young obstructed the SEC's investigation into his Kennett Square firm, Acorn Capital Management L.L.C., by providing false and misleading information and by refusing to provide certain documents.

Until recently, Young lived in a $2.1 million Palm Beach house he bought with investor money. That house is in the process of being put up for sale by the receiver responsible for recouping money for defrauded investors.

Young also had a 57-acre horse farm in West Marlborough Township, near Coatesville, and a house in Mount Desert, Maine. Those properties have either been sold or are under an agreement of sale. Investor money was also used for country clubs, cars, boats, horses, and polo ponies, the indictment said.