PHOENIX - An Arizona businessman who was indicted in one of the biggest-dollar fraud cases ever prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General's Office has been ordered to turn over nearly $43 million allegedly earned through fraudulent investment schemes.

A federal district court in Dallas issued a permanent injunction against Benjamin Franklin Cook III for violation of federal securities laws.

Cook was charged Aug. 30 with 37 counts of racketeering, fraud and theft in connection with an investment scheme run by his company, Dennel Finance Ltd. The indictment alleges that Cook defrauded more than 300 investors of a total of $41 million, investing only $625,000.

If convicted, the suburban Carefree resident could be sentenced to several hundred years in prison.

Five different government agencies investigated Cook's plan, which promised investors that their money would be placed in a European Bank Trading Program.

They allege he used the money to buy luxury items like cars, airplanes, a house and other real estate properties. Cook also donated $1.8 million to the Church of Scientology.

Cook is in a Texas detention facility on federal contempt charges after ignoring court orders in a lawsuit brought against him by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. U.S. Marshals Service arrested him in October 1999 in a Las Vegas casino.

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