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Huntington Park Man Indicted In $62M Ponzi Scheme

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Dec 17, 2008 8:48 am US/Pacific

Huntington Park Man Indicted In $62M Ponzi Scheme

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A Huntington Park businessman allegedly preyed on thousands of mostly Hispanic investors in a Ponzi scheme that promised 84 percent annual returns on real estate.

Federal prosecutors say Milton Retana, a Salvadoran who owns Best Diamond Funding, got $62 million from investors. The 43-year-old Retana was arrested Tuesday after he was indicted for fraud and making false statements.

Retana allegedly told his mortgage clients that he could help them invest their money in real estate, then he started advertising in Spanish-language magazines and on the Internet and held weekly investment seminars.

The indictment says Best Diamond bought little real estate and instead used the investments from later investors to pay "profits" to earlier investors.

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