A jury on Friday convicted a former investment broker who recently lived in Aptos and attended Twin Lakes Church of 20 charges in a securities fraud case that involved bilking investors out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Kenneth Doolittle, 49, convinced people he met through church and other community involvement, such as the Rotary Club, to invest in a mobile home refurbishing company that promised a 13 percent return on their money, according to Santa Cruz County assistant district attorney Kelly Walker, who prosecuted Doolittle during the three-week trial.
Most of the victims were elderly, Walker said. She added that prosecutors believe there were as many as 50 victims, but the case detailed only 10.
Doolittle, who now lives in Idaho, bought mobile homes for $5,000 and resold them for $30,000, often to buyers who could not afford the payments. Walker described it as a "flip this house" scheme.
"Sometimes he pays the investors, sometimes he didn't," Walker said.
But most of his investors never got their money. One woman lost $132,000, according to Walker.
Full Article and Source:
Former Aptos Man Convicted of/a Investment Scam, Faces 25 Years in Prison
4 comments:
Maybe he'll be too old to scam anyone when he gets out!
I'd like to see him get the whole 25 years.
But then again, murderers rarely serve that much time.
If only they all (thieves preying on elderly people) would get 25 years.
Good one, Thelma!
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