Bogus muni seller Edwin Torres received a sentence of seven-and-a-half years in prison plus three years of probation at a U.S. District Court hearing in Oakland last Thursday.
Torres pled guilty in March to nine counts of mail fraud and seven counts of wire fraud after bilking 30 investors out of more than $5 million of fake municipal bonds promising yields of up to 40%.
The court last Thursday ordered Torres to pay a special assessment of $1,600, while leaving the matter of restitution and fines yet to be determined, according to Luke Macaulay, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
The charges carry a maximum statutory penalty of $250,000 for each of the 16 counts, plus restitution to victims.
His criminal activity occurred from July 2003 through September 2004, the last year of his six-year tenure as an independent representative of AIG Advisor Group, operating under the business name of SunAmerica, with an office in Moraga, Calif.
Instead of buying the munis for the clients like he promised, Torres deposited the money in his personal bank account and eventually spent it all on himself.
He gave the investors counterfeit invoices printed on SunAmerica stationery and sent checks and wire transfers representing interest payments on the bonds.
