Gwinnett Investment Adviser Wanted By FBI On Mail Fraud Charges

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — A Gwinnett man who the FBI says defrauded investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars is on the run, according to federal authorities.

Financial adviser Christopher W. Burns, 37, who is charged with mail fraud, was supposed to have turned over business documents on Sept. 25 to the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a statement from the FBI.

Instead, Burns left his Berkeley Lake home the day before and hasn’t been seen since. His car was later found abandoned in Dunwoody, with copies of cashiers’ checks worth more than $78,000 in it, authorities said.

Burns was alleged to have used several businesses — including Investus Advisers, Investus Financial, Dynamic Money and Peer Connect — to sell investments in a “peer-to-peer” lending program, according to an FBI affidavit as reported by The Gwinnett Daily Post. Profits were to have been made via “promissory notes” issued to investors.

“In reality, the collateral promised by Burns either did not exist at all or was worth substantially less than Burns represented,” FBI agent Stephen Ryskoski said in the affadivit.

According to the affidavit, one north Georgia couple lost almost all of the $365,000 they invested.

Anyone who believes they’ve been defrauded by Burns or who knows where he is should call the FBI Atlanta field office at 770-216-3000 or visit tips.fbi.gov.