Kermit Hall, one of the owners of the Kingsley Trust, was convicted of wire and mail fraud charges involving the theft of investor funds

Kermit Hall, one of the owners of the Kingsley Trust, was convicted of wire and mail fraud charges involving the theft of investor funds, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said Friday.Hanaway said in a release that Kermit Kingsley Hall and Joseph G. Cooper, who operated the Kingsley Trust from offices at 5494 Brown Road in Hazelwood, Mo., allegedly solicited investments in the Kingsley Trust based on false representations about the safety of investments in the trust.The trust’s Web site falsely described investments in the trust as “guaranteed deposits that post annual rates twice the norm” and contained the assertion that they erase the guesswork with “principal guarantee,” according to Hanaway. Kingsley Trust brochures falsely stated that “deposited amounts are guaranteed with interest benefits locked in at the time of deposit.”“Instead of investing victims’ funds, Hall and Cooper used approximately $345,000 of their funds to purchase a vehicle, pay personal expenses, attorneys’ fees and give money to relatives; and none of the victims’ money was actually invested,” Hanaway said in a statement.Hall, 58, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., was convicted of on one felony count of mail fraud and two felony counts of wire fraud in a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber. Hall’s sentencing has been set for Jan. 9, 2009.Cooper, 51, of Florissant, Mo., previously pleaded guilty to related charges and awaits sentencing.Each fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.