A Santa Clarita man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal criminal charge for defrauding investors out of more than $1.7 million.
Matthew Skinner, 45, who in 2014 founded a company called Empire West Equity Inc. and later established Simple Growth LLC, entered his plea to a federal count of securities fraud.
Sentencing was set for Aug. 15. The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
Skinner used social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to promote himself, falsely claiming to be an experienced and successful real estate investor with more than $200 million in deals under his belt, according to court documents.
After Empire West experienced financial troubles and Skinner was unable to pay his staff and investors, he established Simple Growth in 2018 and falsely told investors who purchased Simple Growth coupon bonds “that their money would be used to purchase real estate that (Skinner) and Empire West would develop and resell at a profit,” according to the plea agreement filed in L.A. federal court.
Skinner admitted that he did not intend to purchase, develop or resell real estate, and that he instead used investor funds to pay older investors, his employees and himself.
He “used investor funds from those entities and accounts to pay for personal trips, his mortgage, his utility bills, cosmetic surgery, and alimony payments to his ex-wife,” Skinner acknowledged in the plea agreement.
Simple Growth raised $1,744,946 from more than 20 investors — none of whom received any of their money back.