2 CA men sentenced for running $16M Ponzi scheme
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two California men are heading to prison after being convicted of running a $16 million Ponzi scheme and defrauding about 400 investors.
Federal officials say 52-year-old Duane Eddings of San Francisco was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison. Co-defendant Robert Brown Jr. of Vallejo received a prison sentence of 15 years and eight months.
In November, a jury found Eddings guilty of wire fraud, money laundering, bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion.
In April 2010, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for his participation in the investment scheme.
Prosecutors say Brown and Eddings posed as stock market experts and lured investors with guaranteed high rates of return. But in reality they transferred money from new investors to earlier investors and spent millions on themselves.
