A Manchester man is facing criminal charges in Maine and a restitution order in New Hampshire after persuading investors in both states to give him money for what was supposed to be a pay-per-view program starring celebrity Carmen Electra.

The Bureau of Securities Regulation in New Hampshire on Monday announced the order against James A. Philbrook for fraud and other securities law violations.

The order requires Philbrook to pay $237,000 in restitution to the alleged victims, a fine of $12,500 and investigation expenses of $10,000. He has also been ordered to cease and desist from further violations of securities laws.

According to Eric Forcier, staff attorney with the securities bureau in Manchester, Philbrook is currently on trial in Superior Court for Aroostook County in northern Maine, where some of the victims live. “Whether or not there is criminal jurisdiction in New Hampshire, I don’t know,” he said. “That would be a decision that rests with the attorney general’s office.”

Philbrook was indicted by a Maine grand jury last year on one count of theft by misapplication and one count of securities fraud.

According to the order issued in New Hampshire on Monday, Philbrook contacted a Maine couple in May 2005, asking if they would like to invest money in a proposed pay-per-view program starring Electra. The Maine couple said they wired $71,505 in June 2005 to Philbrook’s bank account and received in return a promissory note.

Investigators say the funds wired into Philbrook’s account were almost immediately used to pay restitution to a former employer of Philbrook’s son, who had been found guilty of theft by deception against his employer in a case prosecuted by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office.

Investigators say the same Maine couple invested an additional $73,494 in the alleged scam in July 2005, after Philbrook offered a “triple bonus” as an inducement. At the time, they say, he also persuaded a Nashua couple to invest $20,000. An investor in Enfield invested $22,000 with Philbrook in December 2005, and the Maine couple invested another $50,000 in the scheme in July 2006, according to the order.

“In all instances, Philbrook treated the money as personal loans, despite his representations that the money was to be used for investment,” according to the statement from the state securities bureau. “In many cases the money was used to pay Philbrook’s personal bills.”

State officials say Philbrook claims the investments were personal loans that he was free to use in any way he saw fit.

“Although (he) claims these transactions were merely loans, that was not the understanding of those who turned over tens of thousands of dollars at a time to Philbrook with the hope of significant investment returns,” said Barry Glennon, director of the bureau who acted as hearing officer in the case.

Investigators say Philbrook had some investors sign confidentiality agreements related to the investments, with serious penalties for disclosure of the information.

“We first learned about the case when contacted by police departments in Maine,” said Forcier, “because the Maine victims went to their local police and the police called us.”

dsolomon@unionleader.com