SAN MARCOS : Head of Investment Firms Is Indicted

A 33-year-old San Marcos man was indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 counts of mail and wire fraud in connection with his two commodities investment companies, U.S. Atty. William Braniff announced Friday.

Matthew D. Nerbonne operated Rainbow Metals Exchange and Federal Bullion Exchange, which did business in Cardiff and Encinitas from 1985 to 1987, Braniff said. The indictment alleges that Nerbonne and his staff would contact potential customers by phone, offering to invest money on their behalf in silver bullion, commodity futures contracts and foreign currency.

Instead, Nerbonne spent most of the money on personal and business expenses, the grand jury alleged. Investors sent Nerbonne more than $1 million and lost $618,844, according to the indictment.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service as part of the Boiler Room Task Force, a multi-agency task force targeting telemarketing fraud in San Diego.

Nerbonne faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.