The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former state legislator and member of the Georgia Board of Regents on Thursday with fraud through a Ponzi scheme.

The SEC alleged that Clarence Dean Alford defrauded at least 100 investors in a now-bankrupt company called Allied Energy Services.

Alford is accused of raising at $23 million by selling promissory notes—primarily to Indian American professionals—that he guaranteed would provide high annual rates of return. According to the SEC complaint, Alford presented Allied as a successful business when in fact it was struggling and claimed that investors' funds would finance energy projects.

But the SEC alleged that Alford used most of the funds to make interest payments to earlier investors and for personal expenses, including building a multmillion-dollar home.

In 2019, Alford's alleged scheme collapsed when he failed to make promised interest payments to several investors and then failed to repay the investors' principal.

"Alford was a prominent member of the community who misled retail investors for personal gain," SEC Atlanta Regional Office's associate regional director, Justin Jeffries, said in written statement. "Investors should be wary whenever they are promised guaranteed, lucrative investment opportunities."

Alford's attorney, white collar defense lawyer Walter Jospin, said he could not comment on the charges.

The SEC said that Alford has consented, without admitting or denying the allegations, to the entry of a judgment finding that he violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The deal includes ordering permanent and conduct-based injunctions. Alford also agreed that the amounts of civil penalties, disgorgement and prejudgment interest would be determined by the court at a later date. The proposed judgment is subject to court approval. The SEC's Atlanta Regional Office conducted the investigation and will lead the litigation, with the assistance of the Georgia Secretary of State's Securities Division.

Alford is a Georgia Tech educated electrical engineer, graduating in 1976. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1982, serving parts of DeKalb and Rockdale counties. He served 10 years there.

Alford also was a member of the Georgia Board of Regents, the elite governing body for the University System of Georgia appointed by the governor. He served there from 2012 until he resigned last year after the investigation into his business dealings began.