4 CHARGED IN FRAUD INQUIRY.

Byline: TOM BAYLES

The charges against Clifford Frank Bagnall, Gerald Gonzalez, Fred William Howard and Charles Keith Byington stem from their involvement in several overlapping companies -- BBG Investments, BBG Risk Management and First Liberty Group -- where they allegedly sold bogus investments and pocketed the cash.

Investigators allege that from September 2004 through August 2005, the men worked at BBG Investments and BBG Risk Management and sold 24-month promissory notes ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 to 20 Florida residents. "BBG" is formed from the first letters of the last names of Bagnall, Byington and Gonzalez.

The investments were primarily …