REAL ESTATE

State Moves Against Home Builder: In documents filed in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, the state Department of Corporations accused Anaheim Hills home builder Hill Williams Development Corp. of operating “a classic Ponzi scheme”--using investors’ money to pay monthly distributions without their knowledge. The department filed a temporary restraining order against the company, barring it from soliciting more funds from investors. Over a three-year period, Hill Williams raised $89 million from about 5,000 investors through four partnerships allegedly formed to lend the company money for building and selling houses. The injunction came a day after a filing by Hill Williams and eight of its affiliates for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy code.