A man convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme from 2004 to 2007 was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday.
In October, Fidel Bermudez of Miami pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of security fraud and admitted to the aggravated white-collar crime enhancement, prosecutors said.
Thirty-seven investors reported giving the 44-year-old Bermudez a total of $1.7 million and getting back $550,000.
Bermudez, who lived in Thousand Oaks, solicited members of the Church of God in Simi Valley to invest with him. Members trusted Bermudez because he said he was a man of faith.
Bermudez told various stories about where he invested the money and promised spectacular results. What he did was pay returns to early investors with money he got from later investors.
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Your best option is to hire an attorney who understands how to use restitution as a trade off for jail time or other serious penalties. Ventura County Crminal Defense Attorney Robert Helfend will push for a payment plan that meets everyone's needs, and keeps you out of jail. If you've been wrongfully accused of
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