A man arrested in Orange County Thursday is accused, with two others, of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scheme with over 70 victims worldwide, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced.
Christopher Mancuso, whose age and place of residence were not immediately released, and his alleged co-conspirators are charged with promising victims “incredible returns on their investments at little to no risk,” then keeping the money for themselves, according to a statement released by Becerra’s office.
The victims were told they were investing in Financial Tree Trust, Financial Solutions Group Trust and New Money Advisors, LLC, according to Becerra.
Investigators allege the suspects stole more than $10 million from victims in the United States, Canada, Germany, England and Italy between March 2015 and January of this year.
Mancuso’s alleged co-conspirator Joseph Tufo was arrested Thursday in Contra Costa County, according to Becerra, who said a third suspect, John Black, remains at large. His last known whereabouts were in the Sacramento County area.
The suspects’ assets, including bank accounts, cryptocurrency and property, have been frozen, according to Becerra’s office.
Mancuso, Tufo and Black are charged with a total of 32 felonies, including operating a fraudulent securities scheme, grand theft and investment fraud.
“It takes a particular kind of callousness to rob people of their life’s savings by selling them on false hope,” Becerra said. “That’s the kind of fraud the defendants in this case have allegedly committed. We’re talking about as much money as some families earn in an entire year gone in just an instant. These are savings that can mean all the difference in getting a child through college or being able to retire.”
Individual victims are believed to have lost a minimum of tens of thousands of dollars each, according to prosecutors, who said some were told they could quadruple their investment of $100,000 in three months.
The suspects allegedly ignored calls and emails, and told victims various lies, including that the coronavirus pandemic was causing delays.
Prosecutors with the California Department of Justice worked with special agents in the White Collar Investigations Team, which focuses on financial crimes.