Man Pleads Guilty to Ponzi Scheme
A Mission Viejo man pleaded guilty Monday to operating a telephone sex line that purported to sell investments but was really a Ponzi scheme that collected $4.9 million.
Michael Freedman, 46, could face 110 years in prison for fraud and money laundering when he is sentenced June 6.
Prosecutors say Freedman ran Asian-Pacific Spectrum Communications, which duped about 450 victim-investors from 1995 to 1998. Instead of using their money to advertise, they say, he used most of it to pay other investors their purported returns, buy a new home and pay credit card bills.
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