The chairman of New York-based brokerage firm FTC Capital Markets faces multiple charges stemming from an alleged $22 million scheme, including making unauthorized purchases of high-risk securities.

Guillermo A. Clamens, 46, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He remains at large, according to authorities.

According to the indictment, Clamens solicited funds from a pair of institutional investors, promising to place their money in safe, adequately liquid, short-term investments from at least April 2008 through November 2008. The investors, in turn, deposited $1.5 billion into accounts he managed.

Clamens and other acting at his direction made repeated misrepresentations that the funds were invested as promised, but instead misappropriated the money to make unauthorized purchases of high-risk securities, including bonds issued by an FTC Capital Markets affiliate, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

In order to conceal the fraud, Clamens and others sent fictitious account statements indicating the low-risk investments were made.

The two investors lost $22 million as a result of the scheme when Clamens and former operations manager for FTC Capital Markets Nazly Cucunuba Lopez, also known as Lina Lopez, could not fully comply with the investors’ requests for returns of certain funds.

Lopez, 33, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court Oct. 16 to conspiracy and securities fraud charges for her role in the fraud.

Clamens faces a maximum of 45 years in prison and fines of as much as $5.5 million. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $1.5 billion, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.