CONCORD, N.H. — A Pelham, New Hampshire, man has been indicted on three counts of wire fraud over what federal prosecutors describe as a Ponzi scheme that cost investors several hundred thousand dollars, the U.S. attorney's office in Concord said Thursday.

Kevin Patel, 40, founded a company called Royal Investments in 2018 and billed it as "The Company of Wealth & Trust," according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Patel raised about $2 million from friends and acquaintances by telling them he would invest their money in the stock market, and that he guaranteed risk-free annual returns of 12% to 16%.

Instead, the indictment alleges, Patel did not invest the money and spent it on personal expenses and payments to family members. Prosecutors said he paid earlier investors with money from newer ones, and that when new investors stopped coming in, he ran out of money to repay the earlier ones, leaving them with losses of several hundred thousand dollars.

Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Patel is scheduled to appear in federal court at a later date, prosecutors said. The FBI is leading the investigation.

The charges are allegations, and Patel is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

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