Milton Retana, 46, of Huntington Park, California, was convicted by a jury last week on six counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements to government in connection with a fraudulent Ponzi-type investment fraud scheme that bilked investors out of some $62 million. According to prosecutors, through his company, Best Diamond Funding, Retana, a native of El Salvador, lured mostly Spanish speaking investors with promises of up to 84 percent returns from real estate investments. Instead, Retana allegedly used the investment funds to enrich himself and pay off earlier investors. According to reports, Retana solicited investors in Spanish-language magazines, on the Internet and during weekly investment seminars across Los Angeles. His scheme began in or about 2006 until he was arrested in December 2008.
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Update (4/30/10): Milton Retana was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for six counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements to government agents. Prosecutors alleged that during the course of Retana’s Ponzi scheme, he collected about $62 million from approximately 2,300 victims, who suffered actual loses of about $33 million.
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