On Friday, the securities division of the Utah Department of Commerce filed a petition to revoke the securities licenses of Andrew J. Moleff of Spanish Fork and John F. Hoschouer of Lehi and that of their company and to order them to pay a total of $155,000 in fines.

The pair were accused of lying about their financial talents, overstating the size of the investment portfolio they managed and distributing investment booklets that violated World Group Securities’ policy. They also failed to tell prospective clients that Moleff solicited customer funds for three third-party money managers such as Hanlon Investment Management Inc., Foxhall Capital Management Inc. and CLS Investment Firm LLC.

Hoschouer also lied about Moleff’s talents, claiming he is the “number one” financial adviser of World Group Securities who has never “lost a client” for eight consecutive years, the petition said. Moleff also presented slide shows in his seminars, claiming his clients were so happy with his services that they invite him and his family to join them on vacation, but failed to tell them that the client with whom he vacationed was his father.

The state division also accused World Group Securities of failing to enforce employee policies that protect against securities fraud by allowing Moleff to self-supervise his investment seminars and sales materials.

Moleff and Hoschouer could not be reached for comment on the state’s allegations.

Separately, the state division of Consumer Protection also cited a Provo-based consumer debt reduction company Mascot Financial and its three officers, Scot Stobbe, Sam Aston and Blake Reynolds for allegedly scamming more than 230 consumers.

They were accused of violating the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Credit Services Organizations Act when they took up-front fees from consumers, failed to deliver debt reduction services to consumers, and in some cases, failed to pay off consumers’ bills to creditors.

“Mascot Financial promised to erase consumer’s debts for a sizable fee,” said Francine Giani, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce. “Instead they failed to make payments on behalf of customers, failed to complete the contracted services and lined their pockets with consumer’s money instead.”

Stobbe, Mascot Financial’s co-founder, disputed the allegations, saying they “aren’t true and were raised without any evidence.

“We will present our side of the story at the hearing, once the date is set,” he said.

Mascot Financial and its three officers were ordered to pay a $270,500 fine, Giani said. In addition to the citation, the division submitted a claim against Mascot Financials’ $100,000 surety bond with Great American Insurance Company to recover the fine.

On Sept. 15, the state division issued a notice to revoke the company’s Credit Services Organizations permit. Stobbe said an Oct. 20 hearing date on the matter was postponed.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C6.