Photo: Zach Gibson / Getty Images
A San Diego woman who amassed impressive wealth at the expense of investors she defrauded for seven years in a “Ponzi scheme” was sentenced to 15 years in prison. It is the largest scam of its kind in the district’s history.
Gina Champion-Cain, restaurant owner and real estate, organized the large-scale scam scheme, obstructed justice and destroyed evidence from federal investigators in San Diego , said the judicial authorities in a statement.
The wife of 57 years pleaded guilty on 22 July 2020 admitting that had accumulated more than $ 370 million dollars of almost 500 investors he misled promising to use their money to make high-interest loans to entrepreneurs seeking liquor licenses in California.
“Gina Champion-Cain, 57, received more than the sentence recommended by prosecutors. “ #truecrimecommunity # truecrimepodcasts # truecrime # PonziScheme https://t.co/ MTmWCLjY0E
– EJ Hammon 💀🔪 (@RoseDysfunction) April 2, 2021
But she and her accomplices used the funds to pay off other former investors in the pyramid fraud scheme and also to finance their own businesses and expensive lifestyle, including luxury cars, jewelry, trips and suites to see Padres and Chargers games .
To keep scams, she and other conspirators fabricated documents, forged signatures, and created fake email accounts , preventing scammed investors from discovering they were being misled.
I’m a big supporter of women in sports and business, but not women like local # ponzi # conartist Gina Champion- Cain who stole millions $$ from friends & associates in # SanDiego . Now she’ll have 15 years in federal prison to think about how we should treat our friends. pic.twitter.com/5RE1t2fSOy
– Dan Goese 🄳🄿🄶 (@dan_goese) April 2, 2021
In addition to Champion-Cain, Crispín Torres was sentenced to four years in prison. The man of 57 years He was the CFO of Champion-Cain companies.