Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Judge Delays Ponzi Scheme Plea Deal
Chatsworth man allegedly promised friends and relatives a 20 and 25 percent return every six months.
Update: A change-of-plea hearing for a Chatsworth man who allegedly raked in about $13 million from a bogus NASCAR apparel business was delayed today until next week.
He was scheduled to enter a guilty plea today to federal mail fraud charges, but U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez delayed the hearing until Sept. 6.
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A Chatsworth man who allegedly raked in about $13 million by falsely telling friends and relatives they were financing a NASCAR apparel business is set to plead guilty today to federal mail fraud charges.
Eliott Jay Dresher, 64, was indicted on fraud charges in December 2009 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles in connection with the scheme, which operated from 1998 to October 2009, prosecutors said.
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According to the indictment, Dresher solicited money from 26 families, many of whom were his relatives or close friends, with promises the funds would be used to finance a business in which he purchased NASCAR apparel and sold the merchandise to "big box'' retailers such as Costco and Ross stores.
As part of the scheme, Dresher guaranteed substantial monthly returns, typically between 20 and 25 percent every six months, federal prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, Dresher did not really operate such a
business and all of the funds paid to investors were Ponzi payments that came from the victims' principal investments.
Dresher's alleged scheme collapsed in 2008 when he was unable to make payments to investors, according to prosecutors.
At that point, according to the indictment, Dresher lulled his victims
by falsely telling them that he had more than $70 million in various bank accounts but was having difficulty accessing the funds, so he had hired two attorneys to get the investors' money back from one of the banks.
The indictment states that Dresher caused his victims to invest at least
$10 million with him, most of which was ultimately lost.
Dresher has been held in federal custody without bond since his arrest
two years ago.
-- City News Service
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