El Cajon

El Cajon police have arrested one man and issued warrants for the arrest of two others in connection with an “endless chain” pyramid scheme, authorities said.

Mark Bachman, 28, of El Cajon was arrested Wednesday and arrest warrants were issued for Darin Simmerman, 26, of La Mesa and James Epperson, 37, of San Diego. The warrants were served simultaneously by El Cajon police and the district attorney’s office at three locations in San Diego County Wednesday morning.

Under pyramid schemes, which were extremely popular in the early part of the decade, an “investor” gives money--in this case, $1,500--to another person in the pyramid, then recruits others to move up the rungs of the pyramid. The problem is that the number of “investors” needed to keep it going multiplies geometrically and the pyramid inevitably collapses.

The detective who conducted the investigation, who asked that his name not be used because the investigation is continuing, said anonymous tipsters told him that some people at the top of the pyramid had collected as much as $100,000. People who joined the pyramid later, however, lost their money.