Springfield accountant ordered to pay state fines; federal charges pending

A Springfield-area accountant has been ordered to pay $39,000 to the Missouri Secretary of State's office for committing securities fraud and offering unregistered securities, and a federal trial is still on the horizon.

Murphy M. Hubbard poorly managed the account of two Springfield-area investors, according to a news release from the Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office.

The investors, both in their 70s, used Hubbard as their accountant for nearly 30 years, according to the release, and had placed a $250,000 educational trust for their grandchildren in his care.

Hubbard allegedly wrote thousands of dollars of checks from the account to his own company, and the account dropped to less than $50,000 in value. He also failed to disclose that he had been charged with securities fraud and had three years' probation put on his certified public accountant license in 2003.

“Hubbard was our accountant for three decades, so I trusted him with the savings for our grandchildren’s education. We had no idea he had been in trouble in the past,” the unnamed 73-year-old investor from Rogersville said in the release. “I now know you should call the Secretary’s office to check on any new investment, even if you’ve known your accountant for years.”

Hubbard and each of his two companies, The Hubbard Group PC and Holding Group International Ltd., were ordered to pay $10,000 apiece - the maximum civil penalty - along with the costs of the investigation.

Hubbard also faces a federal trial for 11 felony counts of tax evasion and wire fraud; he was indicted by a federal grand jury in December.

Carnahan first announced her office's investigation of Hubbard in August, when she visited Springfield to announce a cease-and-desist order against Hubbard and his companies.[[In-content Ad]]