O.C. Broker Convicted of Fraud

A stock broker was convicted Tuesday of fraud and grand theft for selling $10 million of phony oil and gas investments to elderly California investors.

A jury found Donald Allyson Williams, 52, of Mission Viejo guilty of 10 counts each of securities fraud and grand theft after a five-week trial in San Diego Superior Court.

Williams sold limited partnerships in Utah oil and natural gas wells to some 500 investors, most of whom were elderly, by promising annual returns of 10% to 12%.

Prosecutor Steve Davis said the investment was a Ponzi scheme and only one of the four wells was connected to a pipeline.

Money from new investors was used to pay earlier investors to generate more sales of the phony partnerships, Davis said.

Williams also used proceeds to put family members on the payroll at his business, Coastline Financial, and paid for a new Cadillac and a vacation in the Bahamas.

The broker had argued that he was operating a legitimate investment fund. His lawyer, Mel Epley, said he hadn’t decided whether to appeal.

Williams could face a maximum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 11.

He was prosecuted in San Diego on behalf of 10 investors in the county, including one who lost $300,000. Williams also faces prosecution in Santa Clara County for allegedly defrauding investors there with the same partnership scheme, Davis said.