Southland : 10 Arrested in Biggest-Ever Bust of Boiler-Room Investment Scams
Securities agencies from seven states raided a dozen California boiler-room investment operations over the last 10 days, authorities said today, seizing evidence and arresting 10 suspects in the biggest multi-state telemarketing crackdown in history.
Most of the boiler rooms are based in Los Angeles and Orange counties, although others are as far north as Sacramento County and as far south as San Diego.
The firms are suspected of fleecing an estimated 10,000 victims in 50 states out of more than $50 million by soliciting investments in bogus precious metals and oil and gas schemes, said G. W. McDonald, chief of enforcement for the California Department of Corporations.
Those arrested face felony charges of grand theft, securities fraud, commodities fraud, unlicensed activity and violations of the California telemarketing registration law, McDonald said at a press conference this morning in Los Angeles.
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