MARIETTA - A Marietta man accused of operating a Ponzi scheme to divert millions of investors' dollars for his personal benefit and other uses pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court.

Geoffrey Gish, 56, and Myra Ettenborough, 55, of Roswell are charged with conspiracy and 10 counts of mail and wire fraud arising out of their operation of Gish's business, Weston Rutledge Financial Services, Inc., which was located in Marietta and later in Roswell, according to the Unites Stated Department of Justice. Ettenborough pleaded not guilty on the charges at her first appearance Friday.

"Investors lost million of dollars that they were told was successfully invested and was generating earnings on their investment," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said. "Instead, Mr. Gish and Ms. Ettenborough allegedly made false promises and diverted the money to other uses, including their own personal benefit."

Gish and Ettenborough, the company's office manager, are accused of misrepresenting ways in which they used their clients' money and sending monthly statements that falsely reflected earnings in pooled investment funds. According to indictments, this occurred between 2005 to May 17, 2006, when a federal judge froze Weston Rutledge's assets and appointed a receiver to take over the company and find ways to return money to investors.

According to indictments and information presented in court, although Weston Rutledge received nearly $29 million from investors, the company's bank accounts had only about $1 million left when it was placed into receivership.

Gish and Ettenborough's attorneys could not be reached for comment late Monday.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Atlanta field office are investigating the case.

"The loss amounts sustained by the many victims in this investment fraud scheme represent the greed of those responsible," said Brian D. Lamkin, the special agent in charge. "While it is hard to avoid becoming a victim of these aggressive and well-constructed schemes when the facts and figures provided are blatantly falsified, people should always be extremely cautiously of promises of high rates of return."

According to the justice department, the conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years and a fine up to $250,000. Each of the mail and wire fraud charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Gilfillan, who is prosecuting the case, said he doesn't anticipate a pretrial hearing until later next month.