First arrest made in widespread investment scam

LAWRENCEVILLE - A man suspected of illegally taking more than $630,000 from 18 Georgia residents who thought they were making solid investments turned himself in Friday. <br> <br> Insurance salesman Eric Todd Harber, 39, of Athens, was charged Friday with taking $25,000 from a Gwinnett investor in exchange for a promissory note that may be worthless and wasn&#39;t properly registered with the state, according to court records. <br> <br> The residents thought they were giving the money to Harber to invest through Tampa, Fla.-based McCarn&#39;s Allstate Financial Corp., said Kara Sinkule, spokeswoman for the Georgia secretary of state&#39;s office. <br> <br> Sinkule said the money was supposed to be used to finance high-interest car loans that would provide investors a 9 percent return in nine months. Investors complained when they stopped receiving dividend checks. <br> <br> Harber is the first Georgia arrest in the case, which is believed to involve more than 100 mostly elderly victims in the state who invested millions in illegal securities deals.