Couple Charged in Pyramid Scheme

A man and his wife were charged Wednesday with taking $1,500 from two other couples in an illegal pyramid scheme run out of their home, authorities said.

Rafael Lopez, 40, and Sandra Lopez, 46, were charged with four counts each of grand theft and one count each of operating an endless chain scheme, said Keith De La Rose, the deputy city attorney prosecuting the case.

Each count is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, he said.

Two couples from Koreatown told LAPD Devonshire Division detectives that they paid the Lopezes a total of $1,500 during gatherings of the pyramid game called “Amigos Ayudando Amigos”--Friends Helping Friends--held last year at the Lopez home in North Hills, De La Rose said.

One couple said they paid the Lopezes $1,000 and the other said they paid $500, the prosecutor said.

All four alleged victims told police that the Lopezes had promised a return of $4,000 for each $500 they invested in the game, but the couples never received a dime, De La Rose said.

The Koreatown couples also alleged the Lopezes promised to return their money any time they asked. When they did, however, they said the Lopezes refused.

Arraignment for the Lopezes was scheduled for July 3 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.