Orange County man pleads guilty in lease scam.

Charles Holcomb has pleaded guilty to seven charges of corporate fraud involving several Shasta County investors who lost $85,000 through a scheme to invest in Utah oil leases. Holcomb, 52, entered his plea Monday, the day before a Shasta County Superior Court trial was scheduled to begin. He faces a possible maximum prison sentence of three years, according to Shasta County Deputy Dist. Atty. Andy Anderson. Anderson said Holcomb, who was arrested in September, 1982, in Los Angeles, operated a nonexistent energy company known as Mountain Energy Corp. Investments in the bogus company date back to 1980.