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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Lake Shore Asset operator charged in $300M fraud

The managing director of a Chicago-based hedge fund has been charged with swindling hundreds of investors in a $312 million fraud scheme.

A 27-count federal indictment unsealed Monday charged 44-year-old Philip J. Baker with wire fraud, commodities fraud and other offenses.

Baker is a Canadian citizen last known to be living in Germany.

He allegedly told investors in Lake Shore Asset Management that the hedge fund had generated positive returns since 1993 when it actually was losing millions of dollars and hadn't traded at all prior to 2002.

The alleged fraud was first revealed in 2007 when Baker was sued by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

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