By: Zachary Lopez (ZachNews)
Source: United States Department of Justice (News Release and Information)
Picture: United States Department of Justice (Courtesy)
Downtown Los Angeles, California: A former deputy from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department pleaded guilty on Monday, May 9th, 2022 to $5.6 million dollars investment scam.
According to the United States Department of Justice, A former San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies for deceiving victims into investing at least $5.6 million with him, then using their money on extravagant gambling, taking private jet airplane rides and buying luxury items for his girlfriends, the Justice Department announced today.
Christopher Lloyd Burnell, 51, of Highland, pleaded guilty on Monday afternoon to 11 counts of wire fraud and two counts of filing a false tax return.
According to court documents, Burnell falsely claimed to have accumulated tens of millions of dollars from lawsuits he purportedly won against the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Kaiser Permanente; from selling a patent for an air-cooled, bullet-resistant vest to Oakley Inc.; and through investments in small businesses and money-lending opportunities. The scheme began no later than November 2010 and continued until September 2017.
After deceiving victims into believing he was a wealthy businessman, Burnell then induced victims to invest up to hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time…
