On Friday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced charges against 15 people for allegedly conspiring to defraud at least 30 elderly victims out of their retirement savings.
The international Ponzi scheme mainly targeted elderly Filipino residents of Stockton and Sacramento. It aimed to solicit millions in investments for the construction of a resort in the Philippines called the Pagudpud Sands Resort, officials said.
Since 2015, the defendants used their positions as financial advisors to convince the victims to invest in PSR, according to a press release from Bonta’s office. The accused lied during group sales presentations, falsely claiming that Wyndham Resorts had committed to managing PSR and telling investors that their money would go toward the construction of the resort, officials said.
Instead, officials said the retirement funds were used to pay two of the defendants a minimum of $10,000 a month, give commissions to those who brought investors to the resort and finance other multi-level marketing schemes.
“Our most vulnerable loved ones should never be deceived and defrauded of their hard-earned retirement money,” said Bonta.
The defendants were charged Friday on an array of felony counts including grand theft, financial elder abuse, sale of unqualified security, and communications containing untrue statements and omissions of material facts.
California’s Department of Justice is searching for other people who have been defrauded by the scheme.
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