Boelens managed the Evergreen fund with Orlando associates Jeffrey A. Stanley and William H. Blankenship whose trials are pending. Boelens has pleaded guilty to single charges of fraud conspiracy and grand larceny of at least $29.5 million from the fund, according to the District Attorney's office.

Boelens faces a maximum 15 years imprisonment on the two charges. But he is expected to receive shorter prison time for his cooperating with authorities. He comes up for sentencing April 15. Boelens' conviction is the first of what is expected to become a laundry list of Evergreen conmen coming to trial.

The purported government mortgage securities-back Evergreen fund bilked 2,000 global investors over a 10-year period beginning in 1991 from conservatively-furnished offices on Pine Street in Downtown Orlando.

The scam unfolded when Evergreen voluntarily filed for protection from 500 creditors under Chapter 11 in January 2000. The firm listed liabilities of $214 million and assets of $3 million. In 1995, four years after Evergreen started operation, the fund had $45 million in liabilities and $26 million in assets, according to the firm's bankruptcy filings.

An estimated 500 Floridians lost money in the scheme but many of them, along with numerous foreign investors, are not expected to file formal claims against Evergreen because they were trying to hide the funds either from government investigators or other associates, authorities are now learning.

While the criminal charges are being handled by the New York District Attorney's office, the civil charges are being processed in Orlando by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. R.W. "Bill" Cuthill, a court-appointed trustee representing the 2,000 bilked investors, has recovered $5 million so far in assets previously hidden by former borrowers and associates of Evergreen Security Ltd.

Cuthill is recovering the money by suing 10 companies and nine individuals, alleging they never repaid a total $70 million in loans obtained from Evergreen.

Named as defendants in the suits are William J. Zylka, the 65-year-old , New Vernon, NJ owner of Evergreen Security Ltd.; James P. Conroy, 61, a New York lawyer allegedly associated with Evergreen's fraudulent activities; R.W. McKamy, believed to be a New York investor; Robert W. Boyd and Thomas A. Coyle, both Orlando investors; Herman Castro, a Costa Rican national and principal of Intrados, a Costa Rica-based firm; Boelens; Stanley; and Blankenship, all of Orlando.

Ten companies, owned by Zylka, are named as corporate defendants. Thomas S. Spencer, Orlando, was allegedly associated with Boyd and Coyle as principals in Evergreen's first management company, but is not named as a defendant.

Zylka has been jailed since June 2000 in New York where authorities have told the court he will flee the country if he is bailed out. Conroy is free on $2.5 million bond while awaiting trial.

In a separate suit, Cuthill is suing Orlando-based Atlantic Portfolio Analytics & Management Inc. and Bahamas-based Mataeka Ltd., both allegedly controlled by Jon Knight and Anthony Huggins.

The suit alleges Knight and Huggins' companies haven't repaid two loans totaling $8.5 million to Evergreen. Knight and Huggins maintain, in court pleadings, they are repaying the money and are not involved in any fraudulent action.

An unexpected reaction from the Orlando-based Evergreen investigation is the unwanted response the Boston-based Evergreen family of mutual funds, owned by Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, is receiving from investors seeking more information on the probe. The Boston mutual fund has no association with the Orlando Evergreen fund, authorities stress.