Swindler Agrees to Abide by Securities Laws in Future

A local man who bilked 125 investors out of $11 million signed an agreement Friday prohibiting him from future violations of securities laws.

Richard Carl Huitt, 41, had already been sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud in connection with a bogus second trust deed sales program. He was also ordered to pay $8.7 million in restitution.

Without admitting guilt, Huitt signed the consent decree, thus ending an investigation started last year by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

In August, 1993, federal investigators arrested Huitt at his Newport Beach home on suspicion that his company, also in Newport Beach, bilked investors whom he had promised returns as high as 18% on real estate investments.

Investigators say that Huitt told investors their funds were invested in promissory notes secured by second trust deeds. Instead, he used the money to pay off obligations to other investors and to buy personal property, including two boats and musical equipment, investigators said.

Huitt and his attorney were not available for comment Friday.