FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – A Clovis man has pleaded guilty to running a $24 million Ponzi scheme.
36-year-old Seth Depiano has been charged with mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
According to court documents, through his businesses – The Rental Group, US Funding and Home Services LLC, and Draymond Homes — Depiano promised investors that he would use their money to purchase residential properties and either manage the properties for rental income – or arrange for them to be renovated and resold.
The Department of Justice says many times Depiano had no authority to purchase or sell the properties and misled investors with fraudulent documents, and some of the properties marketed to investors did not even exist.
Under the plea deal, Depiano has agreed to pay restitution to approximately 28 investors.
He also agreed to forfeit more than $700,000 in seized cash as well as his baseball card collection valued at more than $31 thousand.
Depiano is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29th.
He faces decades in prison and a $250,000 thousand fine.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
