Corona Man Pleads Guilty in $33-Million Investment Scam
A Corona man on Monday pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from what federal prosecutors said was a $33.6-million scheme to defraud hundreds of investors.
Randall W. Harding, 44, admitted in the Riverside courtroom of U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips that he helped solicit millions of dollars in investments for Riverside-based MX Factors, with a promise that investors would make a 12% return in 60 or 90 days.
Federal prosecutors and regulators say Harding and accomplices used some of the new investors’ money to pay existing investors in a Ponzi scheme.
Harding pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in making false promises to solicit investors and spending about $60,000 in investors’ funds to pay his credit card bills, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Denise Willett. Harding faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and more than $500,000 in fines.
He is scheduled to be sentenced April 11.
The tip that launched the investigation came from Barry Minkow, a former Reseda businessman who spent seven years in prison for defrauding investors and banks. Minkow is now a clergyman and an investigator for the Fraud Discovery Institute.
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