Ex-School Coach Pleads Guilty in Ponzi Scheme

A former high school football coach who operated a Ponzi scheme that bilked nearly $12 million from more than 200 investors pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of mail fraud and two counts of submitting false tax returns to banks.

Alan Keranen, 42, formerly of Woodland Hills, admitted to U.S. District Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. that he siphoned off money from the Woodland Hills-based California Anchor Group for his personal use, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Anita Dymant.

California Anchor, founded by Keranen in 1983, was intended to be a real estate investment company developing and selling apartment buildings in the San Fernando Valley.

A sentencing date has not been set for Keranen, who faces as much as 14 years in prison and up to $510,000 in fines.