Jefferson County man indicted for alleged securities fraud

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — A Jefferson County man was indicted on three counts of alleged securities fraud Friday.

According to Alabama Securities Commission, Bradley Spencer was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of securities fraud involving $58,000. He was released on a $30,000 bond.

Spencer reportedly solicited investments from two individuals in Blondin Bioscience when they were no longer a business. He failed to disclose to investors that between July 2015 and July 2017 he had misused $179,448.67 of National Institutes of Health research grant funding. The indictment alleges, from about 2017 to May 2019, Spencer led the first investor to believe Blondin Bioscience had secured $1 million in funding, when in fact there was no such funding commitment. The investor provided Spencer with $33,000 to be used as short-term funding for the business.

From July 2017 to Sept. 2018, Spencer represented to the second investor that Blondin Bioscience was valued between $4-6 million at a time when it was out of business. The indictment also alleges that Spencer led this investor to believe his only liability was an $89,400 line of credit. The second investor then provided Spencer with $25,000 based on his misrepresentations. The indictment states he spent both investors’ funds on personal expenses.

In January of 2022, Spencer was convicted by the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama on a federal felony charge of theft of public funds for using the NIH research grant funding for personal expenses.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.