SANTA ANA, CALIF.
A former Newport Beach resident has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme through his Orange County-based company that defrauded hundreds of investors out nearly $50 million, according to officials.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Monday also ordered Joseph J. Lampariello, 62, who recently relocated to Huntington Station, New York, to pay $39.9 million in restitution.
Lampariello previously pleaded guilty to one felony count of wire fraud and one misdemeanor count of willfully failing to file a tax return.
Lampariello was the president and chief operating officer of Medical Capital Holdings, Inc., a medical receivables financing company that operated out of offices in Anaheim and Tustin.
Medical Capital administered several entities that raised money from investors who were told their money would be used to purchase account receivables from accredited medical providers, make secured loans and provide money for general operating expenses, according to officials.
Over 11 months in 2008 and 2009, Lampariello misappropriated funds invested with one of the entities and used the money to make Ponzi payments to prior investors and to pay himself administrative fees.
Lampariello, through Medical Capital, defrauded over 700 investors of nearly $49 million.
“The massive monetary figures can’t begin to explain the devastation to victims in this case, some of whom were forced out of retirement, some who lost their marriage and many more who lost trust and live with despair as a resul,” said Deirdre L. Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Investors must do extensive research before handing over their hard-earned savings, and must never fall for phony online profiles as a way of determining a reputable investment business.”