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November 30, 20052 more charged with fraudTRAVERSE CITY - Two additional suspects are being criminally charged in an alleged scam officials believe cost area investors over $1 million.David Nickerson, 44, of Traverse City, is charged with a felony for allegedly aiding and abetting false pretenses over $20,000 with Gary Singer, the embattled owner of Estate Growth Management in Traverse City. Singer, 54, and Margaret Zimmerman, 48, Estate Growth's CEO, were charged in July with multiple felony counts of false pretenses and embezzlement against vulnerable adults in an alleged investment scam. The new charges include Sonya Lee VandeKerkof, 30, of Traverse City, who faces a felony for allegedly aiding Jonathon Brzezinski, a former Estate Growth employee, with defrauding a vulnerable adult out of over $20,000 in October 2002. The state attorney general's office filed four felony charges in July against Brzezinski, 25, and 10 counts of embezzlement and false pretenses against the business. Brzezinski pleaded guilty last month to one felony count of attempting to embezzle over $20,000 and agreed to pay restitution of $260,000. In exchange for Brzezinski's plea, the state will dismiss similar charges after he testifies against Singer and Zimmerman, who are scheduled for trial next year. Neither VandeKerkof nor Nickerson could be reached for comment. State officials said the alleged scheme, for which Estate Growth allegedly earned $350,000 in commissions, involved 14 victims in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Cheboygan, Charlevoix, and Manistee counties. Both Nickerson and VandeKerkof, who was identified as an associate at Estate Growth, were named in a civil suit filed in July by a local couple for damages in what investigators said was a "Ponzi scheme" conducted through Network Services Depot and Bikini Vending, two California-based companies. State and federal authorities shuttered both businesses in April 2004 for violating securities laws. In the civil suit, Nickerson was listed as a national marketing director for Network Services, where Singer and Zimmerman allegedly invested clients' money while guaranteeing large returns. Both Nickerson and VandeKerkof face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. See Related Story:
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