$100-Million Scam Attempt Against Oceanside Alleged

FBI and San Diego County prosecutors are investigating a likely financial scam that almost made off with $100 million of this Southern California city’s money, officials said Monday.

Oceanside Treasury Manager Carole Gierhart said she believes the city may have come dangerously close to being ripped off in a scheme that a group of businessmen said could yield investment returns of up to 130% a month.

“They wanted to get the power of attorney from the city so they could ship our [money] to an offshore account,” Gierhart said. “I didn’t know how in God’s name this would possibly work, and it sounded a lot like a pyramid scheme to me.”

Gierhart said the FBI and the San Diego County district attorney were looking into the matter. A spokeswoman for the district attorney confirmed that a probe was underway, but the FBI declined comment.

Gierhart said she first heard of the scheme during a meeting in February between herself, Oceanside Mayor Richard Lyon and two men who said they were affiliated with a firm called Alamin Inc. Two other meetings followed, and during each meeting the city officials were asked to keep the discussions confidential, she said.