SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) – A former stockbroker now living in Holyoke has been charged with running a Ponzi scheme in which he recruited investors at country clubs and defrauded them out of nearly $3 million.

Lewis Hoff was charged Tuesday by federal presecutors with wire and investment fraud, money laundering and failure to file tax returns after backing out of a plea deal signed in March.

Authorities allege that the 48-year-old convinced 16 people to give him their money with promises of quick, high-interest returns.

Prosecutors say Hoff never invested the money, but deposited the funds in a personal account and claimed they were “profits” to attract new investors.

Hoff tells The Republican of Springfield that he backed out of the plea deal because “it wasn’t fair.”

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Information from: The Springfield Republican, http://www.masslive.com/

AP-ES-04-22-09 1534EDT