Ruben Gonzalez, of West Covina, California, along with Jose C. Naranjo, and their company New Golden Investment Group, LLC (NGI), were charged with fraud and misappropriation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on May 24, 2010. The charges stem from a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme targeting the Los Angeles-area Spanish-speaking community.
The CFTC obtained an emergency order from Judge Percy Anderson of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on May 20, 2010, freezing the defendants’ assets and preventing the destruction of financial records. The complaint alleges that, since at least August 2008, Gonzalez, Naranjo, and NGI fraudulently solicited approximately $3.65 million from at least 165 investors with false promises of doubling their money within a year through investments in oil, gold, silver, and other commodities.
According to the CFTC, NGI presented a false image of success by displaying trading software on office computers, leading customers to believe the company was actively engaged in legitimate commodity futures trading. In reality, the complaint states, NGI did not trade for customers and did not generate any of the advertised profits. Instead, the operation functioned as a Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors.
Gonzalez and Naranjo are also accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in investor funds, transferring the money to their personal accounts. These funds were allegedly used for personal expenses, including a Mercedes-Benz, airline tickets, retail purchases, and mortgage payments. The CFTC is seeking orders requiring the defendants to provide access to books and records, an accounting of funds, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and the return of ill-gotten gains to defrauded customers.
Gonzalez was already in custody at the time of the indictment, having been previously arrested on illegal immigration charges. He was indicted on May 20, 2010, for separate charges of mail and wire fraud. The CFTC worked in conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on this case.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Christopher Guilford, Tax Refund Scheme, Sacramento CA, 2025 · Alaska
- Frank Hamilton Sentenced to 5.5 Years for SBA Scam, California, 2023 · Texas
- Amy Evangelista, Tax Fraud, California 2023 · Alaska
- Two Foreign Nationals, ID Theft Scheme, Los Angeles CA, 2023 · Illinois
- Frank Hamilton, Loan Shark Scheme, CA, 2023 · California
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News