J. David Aide Nancy Hunter Indicted on 234 Charges

Nancy Hoover Hunter was indicted today on 234 counts of fraud, conspiracy and income tax evasion for her part in the fraud-filled J. David & Co. firm.

Hunter, 48, will surrender at her arraignment Wednesday morning, according to her attorney, Richard Marmaro of Los Angeles. Hunter will plead innocent, he said.

“We remain confident that she will be vindicated after a trial,” Marmaro said. If convicted, Hunter could face a sentence of up to 1,000 years in prison.

The federal grand jury indictment charged that Hunter worked side by side with J. David Dominelli between 1979 and 1984 in a scheme to defraud the investment firm’s 1,500 investors. J. David clients, lured by promises of annual returns of up to 40%, invested $200 million. Actual losses totaled about $82 million.

Hunter and Dominelli, according to the indictment, operated a “Ponzi” type scheme, using new investor funds to pay off existing clients. J. David & Co. was forced into bankruptcy by a group of disgruntled investors in February, 1984.

Dominelli pleaded guilty last year to four counts of fraud and income tax evasion. He was sentenced in June, 1985, to a 20-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Pleasanton.

A federal grand jury is continuing to investigate J. David, according to law enforcement sources.

Among the hundreds of J. David & Co. investors were several celebrities and elected officials, including former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock. Hedgecock resigned from office last year after being convicted of receiving illegal campaign contributions from Hunter and Dominelli.

Hunter pleaded guilty in the Hedgecock case and was placed on three years probation.