Rewald Receives 80-Year Term for Investment Fraud

A former investment counselor convicted of swindling investors out of millions of dollars was sentenced Monday to 80 years in prison, despite his claims that the CIA put him up to it.

Ronald R. Rewald also was fined $352,000 by U.S. District Judge Harold Fong.

Rewald was convicted by a U.S. District Court jury on Oct. 21 of 94 counts of fraud, perjury and tax evasion stemming from the 1983 collapse of the investment firm of Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong.

Prosecutors said the firm was a pyramid scheme, in which earlier investors were paid handsome returns out of deposits made by later investors. Rewald himself spent much of the money that came in on women, fancy cars, a luxury home and polo ponies, they said.

About 400 investors placed $22 million in the company. Only about $10 million could be accounted for by bankruptcy trustees.

Rewald claimed his company was a CIA front and that the agency cut its ties to him when he got in trouble. Rewald did not take the stand in his trial.