A Chattanooga foreign currencies trader accused of swindling investors all over the country out of at least $33 million has been granted a $250,000 bond.

After federal authorities charged Luis H. Rivas with federal mail, wire and securities fraud in late June, he was arrested days later in Topeka, Kan., on a routine traffic stop that revealed his fugitive status.

Mr. Rivas made an initial court appearance in Topeka before being extradited to Greenville, S.C. where the criminal charges are pending against him in U.S. District Court.

Arraigned Friday in Greenville, S.C., Mr. Rivas pleaded not guilty to all charges. Federal public defender David Plowden said Mr. Rivas is being held in the Anderson County, S.C., jail and has not made the bond amount.

Authorities said Mr. Rivas, a convicted felon, had been operating a classic Ponzi scam over the past year from hubs in Chattanooga and three other states, using money from new investors to make fraudulent equity payments to those who came before

There is evidence, authorities say, that he stopped investing clients’ money back in October 2007 while continuing to lure investors with promised monthly returns as high as 10 percent.

See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.

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