Charity Con Man Gets 15 Years

A Costa Mesa man who fraudulently raised nearly $7 million under the guise of helping disabled children and researching AIDS was sentenced Monday in federal court to 15 years in prison and was fined $25,000.

Through telemarketers, Timothy James Lyons, 35, and his childhood friend, Gabriel Bernardo Sanchez, 37, promised donors that the money would benefit several causes, including homeless shelters and veterans groups, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Ellyn Lindsay.

Instead, Lindsay said, the two men used 80% of the money to pay the telemarketers. They kept the rest -- nearly $1.4 million.

After two days of deliberation, a federal jury in November found the pair guilty of mail fraud and money laundering. Lyons was sentenced Monday in federal court in Santa Ana; Sanchez is to be sentenced next month, Lindsay said.

Lyons’ attorney, David Conn, declined to comment Monday.

Sanchez founded the First Church of Life in Costa Mesa 10 years ago, and used it as an umbrella organization to operate several unregistered charitable groups, including American Veterans Help Fund and Americans Against Drugs, according to a 22-page indictment.

Lyons’ company, North American Acquisitions, hired telemarketers to call potential donors, then sent couriers to people’s homes to collect the money.

“This is very common,” Lindsay said. “If somebody calls you and tells you there’s a courier in the neighborhood, don’t just give; get information from them and check up on them and make sure that the money that you give is actually being spent on something good.”

Fraudulent groups can cause long-lasting damage to legitimate nonprofit organizations, said Lona Luckett, a consultant with the Better Business Bureau of the Southland.

“There are very well-known charities, and when things like this happen, sometimes it gives people a bad taste in their mouth and they are reluctant to give to organizations that truly deserve their money.”

One warning sign is a telemarketer’s determination to collect donations quickly, Luckett said. If that occurs, she advises waiting a day to research the organization.