LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A Los Angeles man was expected to plead guilty on Thursday to a federal charge connected with an alleged scheme involving the sale of precious metals.
Michael Godfree, 80, was slated to enter a guilty plea to a single count of mail fraud, carrying a sentence of up to 20 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Federal prosecutors alleged the co-founder of The Minerals Acquisition Co., a Pasadena-based company that offered to sell “ancient slag” — a mining waste byproduct — to investors, purportedly containing precious metals.
Godfree allegedly told investors the company possessed “proof of concept” of a method to extract the metals from the slag, which is a byproduct of copper mining, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors alleged Godfree and his company did not actually own the majority of the slag they sold, and that there was no process for extracting metals from it.
The Minerals Acquisition Co. was dissolved in 2015, with its operations taken over by Precious Metals of North America Inc., another of Godfree’s companies. Both companies brought in at least $8.4 million in sales from more than 100 victims, prosecutors alleged. Godfree reportedly used the cash to pay for sales commissions and personal expenses.
Prosecutors have agreed to recommend no more than 51 months imprisonment for the elderly defendant, according to court documents. Godfree was still expected to be ordered to pay $8.4 million in restitution to his victims.
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