The 48-year-old man from Palo Sedro pleaded guilty to the Federal Court on Thursday on Thursday for a charge arising from a $ 35 million investment scheme, according to the US Department of Justice.
Matthew Pierce has pleaded guilty to 27 wire fraud allegations, laundering money to cover up and seasoning witnesses, said US lawyer Michel Becky said in a DOJ message issued on Thursday.
Piercey held a scheme for fraud, something like a Ponzi scheme, between July 2015 and August 2020, during which he sells funds to his investment companies, Zolla Financial LLC and Family Wealth Legacy LLC. Heritage of family wealth. He “made various fake and misleading investor reports on the financial stability and successes of companies, Becwit said in the message.
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Federal officials claim that Matthew Piersey of Palo Sedro, who is accused of investment fraud, left his car on the shore of Lake Shasta and jumped into the water with a submersible device to escape the capture in November 2020.
More: Underwater escape, letters to Trump part of the person’s arrest in California in an alleged Ponzi scheme of $ 35 million
When Pierce realized that she had been investigated, he tried to discourage prize investors and witnesses to respond to the big court hearing, according to court documents, the announcement said.
As of May 15, Pierce paid approximately $ 8.8 million out of $ 35 million, which he convinced people to invest, said Becky, adding that he had used the rest of the money to buy two residential properties, pay personal and business expenses and finance his defense, according to court documents.
Pierce is confronted with up to 20 years in prison and fines “up to $ 250,000 or twice the gross profit or loss, which is more of them” for each number of wire fraud fraud and fraud in the mail and for every issue for the forgery of witnesses. He also faces up to 20 years in prison and a similar fine of up to $ 500,000 for each money laundering count, according to Beckie.
More: One of the two defendants in the Ponzi scheme of $ 35 million is found guilty
Pierce and Kenneth Winton of Oovil ruled Zolla Financial when they were arrested in 2020, according to the US law firm in Sacramento.
First, it is alleged that Pierce contacted Winton as an investor, after which he appointed him to raise money from investors, according to court documents.
Winton pleaded guilty on December 3, 2020 as a conspiracy for carriage fraud in connection with the case, according to the lawyer.
A letter to a prize investors say Piercee has turned to President Trump
In March 2020, after he learned that investors had been sent to large juries, Pierces sent letters to investors, claiming that the summons were due to “his information about the president (Trump) with a bold proposal to save the country’s banking system,” the court documents said.
Banks around the world can face Global Financial Shock and “The only way out is banks to open Zolla’s accounts and stop bleeding,” Pierce wrote in the letter.
“In the light of our reinforced focus to save the banking system, let you know, I provide potential new levels of regulatory control. If you have any links or contact with government workers, please notify me,” according to the excerpt from the letter included in the court documents.
Law enforcement pursuit ended with an unsuccessful attempt at underwater escape at Lake Shasta
When the law enforcement agencies came to arrest him on November 16, 2020, Pierce led them to pursuit of a vehicle through the Redding neighborhood, ending in Lake Shasta, north of Reading.
Pierce abandoned his car, jumped into the lake, and used an underwater manual marine, Yamaha 350li to try to escape. Officers followed his bubble path on the surface of the lake for about 35 minutes, at that time Pierce came out of the water. Employees arrested him and took him in custody, according to court documents.
Damon Arthur contributed to this story.
Jessica Skropanic is a reporter of Record Searchlight features/USA Today Network. It covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @Rs_jskropanic And on Facebook. Join Jessica in Go out! Neither Cal Recreation Facebook group. To support and maintain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Palo Cedro Man pleaded guilty on charges related to a $ 35 million scheme