Carnahan issues cease-and-desist order against local couple

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s Commissioner of Securities Matt Kitzi issued the order against John and Alesia Sheehan, alleging they persuaded at least 19 investors between March 2005 and summer 2006 to put more than $1 million into their real estate ventures.

The Sheehans are suspected of selling multiple 50 percent interests in properties, including a Springfield property that at least six individuals were sold an interest in.

Among investors mentioned in the order are two Missouri residents who invested nearly $50,000 in the Sheehans’ companies to purchase, rehabilitate and sell real estate for a profit.

One resident was told he was purchasing interest in a Kansas City property; the other was told he was buying interest in two Springfield properties. Both investors were promised 50 percent of the sale or lease profits, according to the order.

Neither of the Missouri investors has had any money returned to them, according to the order.

The order claims the Sheehans accepted money from investors and placed it into accounts that were mixed with personal funds. Funds were used to pay off other investors and various personal expenses.

The order also alleges the couple never registered the securities they offered and that they withheld necessary information from their investors. One omission involved John Sheehan, operating under the alias John Michael, who referred a potential investor to Alesia Sheehan for a testimony from someone who had “done deals” with him in the past, without revealing the two were married.

“Missouri investors should carefully check the background of anyone offering them an investment opportunity, including those found on the Internet,” Carnahan said in a news release.

This story originally appeared in SBJ’s Feb. 23 free e-news Daily Update. Click here to register.[[In-content Ad]]