A Lehigh Valley lawyer has been indicted by federal authorities on charges that he allegedly duped clients into investing in fake business opportunities, lining his pockets with $2.7 million.

In a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Todd H. Lahr, 60, of Nazareth, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, two counts of securities fraud, and four counts of wire fraud.

The original indictment was filed in August, to which Lahr pleaded not guilty to all charges. However, the docket reflects that a change of plea hearing has been scheduled for April.

According to prosecutors, Lahr's Ponzi scheme involved soliciting his own clients to buy securities in two entities, THL Holdings and Ferran Global Holdings. Lahr allegedly told the investors that their money would be used for a variety of business ventures, including a mining operation in Papua New Guinea.

But the money instead went to fund Lahr's own expenses, paying his home mortgage, his child's school tuition, utility bills and other personal debt.

Additionally, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil lawsuit against Lahr seeking disgorgement of the allegedly ill-gotten gains with interest, injunctions and other civil penalties against Lahr.

Lahr's attorneys, Rossman Thompson of the Federal Community Defender Office and Hope Lefeber, did not respond to a request for comment.

"Lawyers are entrusted to uphold the law, not break it," said Philadelphia-based U.S. Attorney William McSwain. "And what is particularly disturbing here is that Lahr allegedly targeted the very people he owed a duty of loyalty to—his clients. Instead of serving their interests, he allegedly stole almost $3 million from them so he could indulge himself. I want to thank our law enforcement partners at the FBI and SEC, along with the attorneys in the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice, who worked with my office to put an end to this fraud and hold the defendant accountable."

Michael J. Driscoll, special agent in charge of the FBI's Philadelphia division, echoed McSwain in his statement.

"Todd Lahr's clients thought he was a man of his word," Driscoll said. "Little did they know he would take full advantage of that trust, diverting and using their money as his own. The FBI is fighting every day to shut down financial fraudsters like this, find justice for their victims, and protect the public."