Police Encourage Pyramid Scheme Victims to Talk

PANORAMA CITY — Los Angeles police on Friday encouraged possible victims of an elaborate pyramid scheme to come forward and speak to investigators if they believe they have been defrauded.

Police said they believe there are additional victims of the multilevel scheme that allegedly bilked thousands of mostly working-class Latinos out of at least $2,000 each.

Investigators will be available to hear potential victims’ claims from noon to 3 p.m. on Monday in the auditorium at Parker Center, said Sgt. John Pasquariello, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.

Earlier this week, police arrested Mercedes Navarrete, 53, and Felix Maganna Navarrete, 69, of Arleta, and charged them with grand theft by false pretense. Each was freed on $50,000 bail in Van Nuys.

Mercedes Navarrete has denied the allegations.

The couple run the Panorama City-based company La Luz de Oro, which police described as a “complex endless chain scheme” that promises new cars and homes to members, but rarely delivers the merchandise. Of the club’s 25,000 members, thousands invested at least $2,000.

Although most of the victims are believed to reside in Los Angeles County, police said chapters of the club are active in California cities outside the county, as well as in Las Vegas, and Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico.