HOUSTON – We’ve learned a Montgomery County man at the center of a KPRC 2 investigation will be released from prison this Wednesday.
Our KPRC 2 Investigative team has been following this story for several years. KPRC 2 Consumer expert Amy Davis first broke the case back in 2016. Allan Cooper was convicted of stealing more than $5 million from local investors. Now we’ve learned he is going home after serving just over three and half years of his sentence.
Why are some prisoners being released early?
Blame it on the pandemic. The Federal Bureau of Prisons started releasing many non-violent inmates most at risk of Covid last spring. Attorney General William Barr recommended home confinement for older inmates with a clean record in prison. But Cooper’s victims say he is still absolutely a threat.
Allan George Cooper wasn’t talking when we caught up with him in February of 2016 (You can see the video here). He remained tight-lipped and said nothing as we approached him with our cameras even after pleading guilty to running an investment scheme and stealing more than $5 million from some 50 victims.
“Mother first heard about him through a friend at church, I believe,” explains Bobbi Tribble.
Bobbi Tribble’s mother, a retired school teacher, lost $128,000 she thought she was investing with Cooper in 2004.
“She just thought he was a fine Christian man who would never, ever do anything wrong,” said Tribble.
Her mom died before she ever saw a dime of her life savings. And since his incarceration, Cooper has paid very little of the restitution he owes.
“We received 2% of what he had gotten,” explains Tribble.
Just 2% of more than $5 million he stole. Prosecutors say he used investor’s money to pay his credit cards and enrich his own lifestyle while running AG Cooper Associates.
“I mean I’m glad he spent some time in jail, but it’s not enough,” said Tribble. “And I just have this fear he’s going to prey on more innocent people.”
Cooper is now 80 years old. But he’s spent most of his life conning people out of money. In 1984 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing $12.5 million from investors when he ran Kingwood Financial Group.
“Even on home arrest, he can get on the phone. He can get on the computer and solicit. He can have people come to his home. Where ever that will be,” worries Tribble.
If Cooper’s clients had even checked they would have noticed he had no license to work as an investment broker. You can easily look up any investment broker or company’s license online. And if they don’t have one, you should move on.
Cooper will be released from a federal prison in Minnesota Wednesday, June 23. He’s set to come back to his home in Magnolia where he will be on home confinement until 2024. We will keep following this story and let you know when there is another update.