The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging that Woodbridge Group of Companies, the developer of high-end properties in the Roaring Fork Valley and elsewhere, defrauded thousands of investors in a $1.2 billion scheme.

The SEC filed a civil complaint Thursday in federal court in Miami claiming Robert H. Shapiro and his Woodbridge Group of Companies defrauded more than 8,400 investors.

A federal judge ordered a temporary asset freeze against Shapiro and his investment companies and ordered them account to for investor money.

The SEC says Woodbridge claimed to operate a loan business that would pay investors returns of as much as 10 percent annually. In reality, the SEC says it operated a classic Ponzi scheme in which newer investor money was used to pay older investors.

Last month, Woodbridge closed its office in the Aspen Glen residential neighborhood about 3 miles north of Carbondale, reported the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.