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Bay Area Scam Artist Convicted
A federal jury has convicted 43-year-old Marc Christopher Harmon of San Leandro, Calif., of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch, Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Bertram Fairries, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.
Harmon and his co-conspirator, Jason George Rivera, 37, of Danville, Calif., defrauded multiple investors of more than $3 million between October 2008 and January 2011, through a scheme involving a Nevada corporation known as Executive Members Management Group, or EMMG.
The scheme involved promises that EMMG would purchase or trade collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) using funds provided by the investors, or would invest their funds in other lucrative transactions. However, the evidence at trial demonstrated that Harmon and Rivera simply spent investors’ money as it came in, and lied about it afterwards.
Harmon made many false representations to induce the investors to invest, including promises of high rates of returns, exclusive trading markets overseas, and funding short-term loans for banks. In reality, there were no actual investment programs overseas.
The guilty verdict followed a one-week jury trial before the Honorable Richard Seeborg, U.S. District Judge. Harmon failed to appear on the first day of trial and was arrested within 20 minutes of Judge Seeborg issuing a warrant for his arrest. He remains in custody pending his sentencing scheduled for August 23, 2016.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Kingsley and Shailika Kotiya are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Meegan. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and IRS.
Harmon now faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, forfeiture, and restitution for the conspiracy charge and for each of the five wire fraud counts. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the Court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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