Precious Metals Investment Firm Raided

Federal, state and local law enforcement officials Tuesday raided the offices of Innovative Holding Co., an Irvine company specializing in precious metals investment partnerships.

Armed with search warrants, officials from the FBI, the state Department of Corporations and the Irvine Police Department seized documents, records and other material. No arrests were made.

According to Irvine police, the search was for “any and all records relating to limited partnership investments in the processing of precious metals . . . that Innovative Holding Co. Inc. has claim to in the Mojave Desert.”

Glenn R. Hammond, Innovative Holding’s president, said his company’s operation “is honest. We are mining gold.” Hammond, who sat inside his office during the raid, declined further comment, saying: “I want to find out what’s happening. There’s no need talking until I do.”

According to a police statement, the Irvine firm sold investments in a dozen limited partnerships set up to develop a gold recovery process. The company’s recovery plant is in a section of the Mojave Desert known as “Robber’s Roost,” police said. The partnerships were supposed to profit equally in the recovery operation, police said, adding that the minimum investment was $30,000 for a 1% ownership in a partnership.

According to police, the Mojave Desert recovery plant is operated by Oro Ltd., a company believed to be owned by Innovative Holding. Federal agents also searched the offices of the recovery plant on Tuesday, police said.

“There appears to be reasonable cause (to believe) that there has been some . . . fraudulent involvement,” said Irvine Police Lt. Mike White. “I assume somebody complained.”

FBI and other officials declined further comment.