Newport Man Pleads Guilty in Phone Scam

A Newport Beach man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a high-pressure telephone sales scheme that bilked investors out of more than $2 million by convincing them to invest in precious metals.

Matthew A. Valentine, 27, pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of mail fraud and two counts of interstate transportation of stolen property in connection with his activities at Intech Investment Corp. in Newport Beach, according to prosecutor Terree Bowers.

Valentine faces a maximum of 35 years in prison and a $1.2-million fine when he is sentenced Feb. 22 by Chief U.S. District Judge Manuel Real.

Valentine ran a telemarketing operation at Intech in which employees telephoned customers across the nation and convinced them to “invest” about $2 million in such metals as gold, silver, platinum and copper.

Employees allegedly assured clients that there was little or no risk that they would lose money and stated that they could make profits of up to 625%, Bowers said.

Investors were sent documents to make the scheme appear legitimate, but they were unable to liquidate their investments when they tried, Bowers said. To avoid repaying investors, the employees allegedly stopped payment on checks they had issued, mailed refund checks to the wrong clients or issued checks for the wrong dollar amount, Bowers alleged.

Five other men were indicted with Valentine last November. Richard R. Johnson and Mark Rattet pleaded guilty and face sentencing, Bowers said. James Eglitis faces trial Feb. 9. Bowers said charges would be dismissed against Robert Canfield and Marc Guest.