Bay Area Fraudster Harmon Gets 30 Months for $3M Scam

SAN FRANCISCO – Marc Christopher Harmon, 44, of San Leandro, California, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 30 months for his role in a brazen scheme to defraud investors out of more than $3 million. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg following a federal jury conviction. Harmon and his co-conspirator, Jason George Rivera, Jr., 38, of Danville, California, preyed on unsuspecting victims with empty promises of lucrative returns.

The pair operated through a Nevada corporation, Executive Members Management Group (EMMG), between October 2008 and January 2011. Prosecutors presented evidence at trial proving Harmon and Rivera pitched a fraudulent investment model centered around collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and other supposed high-yield transactions. They lured investors with claims of exclusive access to overseas trading markets and funding for short-term bank loans – all fabricated to siphon off funds.

Harmon’s specific role, as detailed during the trial, was to actively recruit investors and feed them a stream of false representations designed to convince them to hand over their money. The indictment, filed July 3, 2014, initially charged both men with eight counts of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349). Rivera also faced two counts of tax evasion (26 U.S.C. § 7201).

While the government dropped two fraud counts against Harmon, the jury found him guilty on all remaining charges. He later entered a post-trial plea agreement, admitting guilt to one count of fraud on October 11, 2016. Rivera jumped ship earlier, pleading guilty to the conspiracy and tax evasion charges on July 29, 2015. He received a 33-month prison sentence, along with three years of supervised release and a $2,045,207 restitution order on February 8, 2017.

Judge Seeborg didn’t just send Harmon to prison. In addition to the 30-month sentence, Harmon will also spend three years under supervised release and is ordered to pay $1,837,500 in restitution to his victims. He is already in custody and began serving his time immediately. This case underscores the FBI and IRS’s commitment to cracking down on complex financial schemes that target vulnerable investors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Kingsley and Shailika Kotiya, with assistance from Bridget Kilkenny, secured the conviction and sentencing. The investigation was a joint effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation – a reminder that federal agencies are working to hold these types of fraudsters accountable.