May 6—URBANA — A California man who allegedly bilked about 1,000 people, including several in central Illinois, out of more than $22 million in a bogus investment scheme that went on for years has been charged with several federal crimes.

A federal grand jury in the Central District of Illinois on Wednesday indicted Brett Michael Bartlett, 37, of Fountain Valley, Calif., and his companies, Dynasty Toys Inc., and 7M E-group Corp., on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.

The indictment alleges that between May 2015 and August 2020, Bartlett and his companies scammed several people around the country, including about 50 in central Illinois, many of whom attended the same church, by making false promises about the potential return on their investments.

According to the indictment, Bartlett, through Dynasty Toys and 7M E-group, purchased items at liquidation sales then resold them online, especially through Amazon. He solicited and took money from investors, first to purchase inventory to be resold by 7M E-group at promised annual returns of 20 percent to 40 percent and later to buy Dynasty Toys' preferred stock shares, which Bartlett claimed were expected to double in value.

The indictment alleges that Bartlett hooked investors by dramatically overstating the success of the companies, lying about the companies' assets, failing to disclose the companies' struggles while soliciting investments, and using investors' money to pay himself and family members.

For example, Bartlett falsely told investors through an e-mailed video that their existing shares were worth about $30 million, that Dynasty Toys owned millions in gold assets, and that another company was going to purchase Dynasty Toys for $120 million.

According to the indictment, in May of 2020, Bartlett mailed checks that he knew would bounce to the Bank of Champaign to be disbursed to investors.

If convicted, Bartlett faces up to 20 years in prison on each fraud charge and up to 10 years for money laundering. The charges also carry maximum fines of up to $6.25 million for Bartlett and up to $27.5 million for the corporations.

Bartlett, Dynasty Toys, and 7M E-group are scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Eric Long in Urbana on June 1 for arraignment on the charges. A trial date will be set at that time.

The charges were investigated by the Springfield office of the FBI and the FDIC — Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller is prosecuting.

In a parallel investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed Wednesday a civil complaint against Bartlett, 7M E-group Corp., Dynasty Toys Inc., and other defendants in the United States District Court in the Central District of California.