Investment adviser used funds for personal chef, prosecutors claim

A suburban Philadelphia financier is facing charges that he bilked investors out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme. Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged 38-year-old Donald Anthony Young with diverting $26 million for his personal use at the investment advisory business he ran in Kennett Square, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Investigators say Young used the money to finance a lavish lifestyle that included homes in Florida and Maine, a horse farm in Pennsylvania and a personal chef. Authorities say Young generated false financial statements for his clients and paid out bogus earnings using money coming in from new customers. Young is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court on Friday. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.