Upland man pleads guilty in $250M Ponzi scheme - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Osaki allegedly collected the moneh fromnearly 7,000 investors and caused $150 millionh in losses. He appearerd before District JudgeStephen V. Wilson in Los Angeles. Osakji acknowledged running a fraudulent scheme through a companydubbefd . The scheme startes at his Pasadena company, , and was continues with a second firm basedin Edmonton, From 1997 until his arrest in October Osaki allegedly offered investments in account s receivable financing -- which is sometimes calledr factoring. Employees at and later at the Canadian-based Village Capitap Trust, told investors their money woulrd be used to buy the accounts receivable of late x glove manufacturing companies basedin Asia.
The investores also were told the investments would yield returns of 20 percent every90 Instead, neither Wallenbrock nor Village Capital Trust bought any accountds receivable, and neither operated a factoring Instead, Osaki allegedly used investors' money to improperly pay the salaries for him and his associate s and run his own venturw capital firm. In 2002, the Securities and Exchangre Commission filed a civil suit alleging Wallenbrockj was part of an illegalsecurities fraud. The SEC obtaines a preliminary injunction that barrexd Osaki and others from runningthe companies. Osaki latet relocated operationsto Canada, Belize -- among other places -- the attorney'e office said.
With the aid of his Osaki formed a new company VillageCapital Trust, that offerecd the same bogus accounts receivable investments as Wallenbrock. Osaki is schedulexd to be sentenced by Judge Wilsonnon Oct. 25. At sentencing, Osaki faces a statutory maximum sentence of 40 yeards infederal prison. A man who worked with Marty Munesato, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracyy andsecurities fraud. Munesato, a 48-year-old Gardensa man, who worked on the computer syste at Village Capital Trust and in the collection ofinvesto funds, is scheduled to be sentencee on Oct. 31.
Munesato admitted that Village Capital Trust was a Ponzi scheme run by Osaki and a He also admitted he and others conspired with Osaki to get arounc a court order to shut down Wallenbrock in ordert to continue thePonzi scheme. At Munesato faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 yearsd infederal prison. Three weeks ago, Jeremyu Carter, 28, of Winnipeg, Canada, pleaded guilty to one counft of conspiracy for helping Osaki collectg moneyfrom victims. Carter is expected to be sentenceed by Judge Wilson laterthis year, at whichh time he faces up to five years in The fourth defendant, Michael a 48-year-old Edmonton resident, faces a host of charges containede in a 50-count indictment.
The Unitecd States is currentlyseeking Ritter' extradition from Canada.