Former Fairfield man ordered to pay over $2 million to fraud victims

FAIRFIELD - A former Fairfield resident named Bruce Arthur Hauptman, 67, was recently sentenced to 42 months in prison for three counts of wire fraud. Hauptman was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $2 million to his victims.

Hauptman pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in November 2019 following an investigation into his actions by the Fraud Bureau special investigative unit in 2016. The unit was acting on a complaint from the Iowa Insurance Division. During the investigation, authorities learned that Hauptman, formerly a licensed securities agent, had convinced multiple individuals in his social circle to invest money with him through promissory notes in businesses he owned, with the promise of a significant return on their investment and equity in his companies.

According to a news release from the Iowa Insurance Division, investors eventually stopped receiving payments, and Hauptman became unresponsive to requests to return money. The investigation discovered that money provided to Hauptman through these promissory notes was going toward funding personal living expenses, such as multiple mortgages, vehicles, and credit cards.

'This was a long case with many individuals from multiple agencies doing good work to make sure that justice was served. The Iowa Insurance Division is here to help protect Iowans against fraudsters like Mr. Hauptman,” Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said. 'It's important for Iowans to double-check before they invest and understand what is being purchased, not just relying on any advice provided by unregistered or unlicensed individuals. If something sounds too good to be true it probably is.”

Before this criminal conviction, the Iowa Insurance Division's Enforcement Bureau filed administrative charges in 2018 against Hauptman for violations of Iowa's securities laws. Hauptman was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $235,000 for failing to pay $138,000 in restitution to Iowans to resolve claims of selling unregistered securities, selling securities as an unregistered agent, using dishonest or unethical practices in the securities business, and omission of material facts. The Iowa Insurance Division ordered Hauptman to cease and desist from offering or selling unregistered securities in Iowa and permanently barred Hauptman from applying for registration as a securities agent, investment adviser, or as an investment adviser representative in Iowa.

In June 2018, Hauptman also received an order and civil fine from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Iowans with information about insurance or investment fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division's Fraud Bureau at 515-242-5304.