CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire regulators have ordered a Manchester man to pay back $237,000 wrongfully obtained from investors in Maine and New Hampshire that the state Bureau of Securities Regulation said was used to pay bills and his son’s former employer.

James Philbrook contacted a Maine couple in 2005 soliciting them to invest money with him related to a proposed pay-per-view program starring celebrity Carmen Electra, the bureau said Monday. The couple wired over $71,000 to Philbrook’s bank account and received a promissory note, the bureau said. They later wired another $123,000. Residents in Nashua and Enfield also invested tens of thousands of dollars.

The funds were used to pay off bills and restitution to a former employer of Philbrook’s son, who was found guilty of theft of theft by deception against his employer in a New Hampshire case, the bureau said.

“Although Philbrook contends that these transactions were merely loans, that was not the understanding of those who turned over tens of thousands of dollars at a time to Philbrook with the hope of significant investment returns,” said Barry Glennon, director of the Bureau.

A phone message left for James Philbrook in Manchester wasn’t immediately returned Monday afternoon.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.