They were promised profits but now investors across New England are left with regret. One of those investors is Steve Tripp. Tripp owns the TOP Strength Project, a gym in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. “It started small and then it grew to this,” Tripp said. He built the business from the bottom up. Two years ago he was ready to keep growing. So when one of his gym members, Chris Aubin, presented him with an investment opportunity, he agreed. “It seemed like a great opportunity,” Tripp said. “They were looking for investors to help front some of these hard money loans and the returns were great.” Aubin ran a company called Anchor State Investments. He claimed to be involved in private lending for real estate. Investors thought they were lending money to fund development projects and would get back big returns. “I had my reservations, is this legit or not but the thing was like I said, Chris was here every day, he was a friend of mine, and I knew where to find him,” Tripp said. In July 2023, Tripp invested around $130,000 with Anchor State Investments. He said he was promised a 15% return in just three months. At first, the money did come in. “Once those loans matured and I saw the kickback I was getting. I rolled those into more loans and I invested a bit more money,” Tripp remembered. By last summer, Tripp watched his investments grow to around $200,000. He decided to pull some of the funds out to build a coffee shop within his gym. “I was like great I have all this capital saved up we’re good to go so I put in for a transfer… and it never came,” Tripp recalled. Tripp said instead of getting his money, he got excuse after excuse. “He would always say next Monday, next Wednesday, next day and it kept going and going and going and going,” he remembered. Tripp’s account records with Anchor State Investments revealed he has only received $12,500 of the nearly $200,000 he’s owed. “It’s very frustrating but it’s much bigger than just me,” Tripp said. 7 Investigates found five lawsuits accusing Anchor State Investments and Chris Aubin of fraud. Nearly 20 people across Rhode Island and Massachusetts said they invested money but are owed money from Aubin and Anchor State Investments. In court records, investors claimed checks bounced and they received fake wire transfers. “Everything he’s done has basically been a lie,” said Patsy Sperduto, another investor who is owed money. “It’s insane, it’s insane.” Sperduto was one of the first to sue Aubin and Anchor State Investments in May 2024. He claims Anchor State Investments owes him around $230,000. Now Sperduto can’t help but wonder how that money was spent. “He seemed to be doing really well and going to buy custom suits, out to dinner every night. He put it out there like he was doing well,” Sperduto remembered. Civil lawsuits alleged investors’ money was “not used for any construction or real estate projects” and instead Aubin used the loans to “live an extravagant lifestyle that includes private jets, helicopters, luxury automobiles and expensive restaurants.” Aubin declined to comment. The attorney for Anchor State Investments also declined to provide a statement but said the company plans to file a counter suit soon. In court documents, Anchor State Investments denied all allegations of fabricating documents, fraud and using investors’ money for personal expenses. In the meantime, people who placed their trust in Aubin wonder if they’ll ever see their money again. “The one thing that keeps popping in my mind, I have four kids, that’s one of their college educations … I worked hard to give that to them and now that has been taken away,” Sperduto said. Investors told 7 Investigates they’ve spoken with law enforcement and hope that authorities take criminal action against Aubin soon. “I don’t think I have actually really accepted that I lost $150k. It was just taken from me just like that. I don’t have it like that,” Tripp said. “That was everything I had. That was everything I had.” (Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)