California Man Who Fled FBI on Underwater Scooter Pleads Guilty to $35 Million Ponzi Scheme
SACRAMENTO — Prosecutors said on Thursday that a man from Northern California, who attempted to elude FBI agents using an underwater scooter, has admitted guilt in connection with a $35 million Ponzi scheme.
Matthew Piercey from the town of Palo Cedro in Shasta County was found guilty of 27 charges, which include wire fraud, money laundering, and obstructing witnesses.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California stated
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According to prosecutors, from 2015 through 2020, Piercey ran a complex investment scam via his firms, Family Wealth Legacy and Zolla. He attracted investments by making deceptive assertions regarding trading strategies, asset availability, and the fiscal soundness of these entities.
Piercey assured investors of guaranteed returns through what he called an “Upvesting Fund.” This was presented as an automated algorithmic trading fund. However, Piercey reportedly confessed to an acquaintance that the fund did not actually exist, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors stated that Piercey returned approximately $8.8 million out of the $35 million he gathered from investors. The remainder was utilized for personal and business expenditures such as legal costs and buying two houses.
“As many individuals entrusted their lifelong savings with Matthew Piercey’s enterprises, they remained unaware that the assurances of fixed returns were merely hollow pledges made by a fraudulent investment operation,” stated FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel.
According to court papers, when Piercey discovered he was being investigated, he tried to “discourage investors and witnesses from complying with grand jury subpoenas.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that during this period, Piercey transferred approximately $775,000 from funds belonging to his victims into an individual bank account of his own.
The FBI had been looking into the matter for over a year.
When they went in to apprehend him on November 16, 2020.
. Piercey led law enforcement officials on a chase before abandoning his pickup truck near Shasta Lake, where he attempted to escape underwater using a Yamaha 350Li submersible device.
Piercey spent about 20 minutes in the lake before coming back to land and getting handcuffed.
In prison, Piercey was discovered to have utilized a secret code to instruct two guests to act upon objects kept inside a U-Haul storage unit he had leased in Redding. The storage locker, which held various items including a wig and CHF 31,000 in Swiss currency, was rented using a false identity along with counterfeit identification documents.
The two accomplices identified are Ken Winton and Gary Klopfenstein, who have each admitted their involvement in the plot. Their sentencing hearings are set for August 21st.
Piercey initially brought Winton aboard as an investor for Zolla, but he soon found himself assuming managerial duties instead.
Piercey, who is 48 years old, could face up to 20 years behind bars for each charge along with significant financial penalties. His sentencing is set for September 4th.
“Investment fraud schemes like the one led by this defendant can devastate lives, retirements, and undo decades of planning by hard-working people simply looking for a trusted place to invest their money,” Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith said.