Scam earns man time in prison, $4.1M restitution

A Newport Beach man who used a fake investment program to scam 21 people out of thousands was told by a United States District Judge Wednesday to pay them back.

John Carl Willy, 64, was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison by Judge Cormac J. Carney in Santa Ana after Willy pleaded guilty to the Ponzi scheme that promised rates of at least 10% per quarter to its victims. Willy was also ordered to pay $4,192,929 in restitution to the victims of his scheme, attorneys said.

Willy had originally pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one of money laundering in January. He had faced up to 50 years in prison.

In his plea agreement, Willy admitted to duping investors into paying him money to invest in a European investment program, according to federal prosecutors.

Willy then used his investors’ money to buy a home in Newport Coast and purchase high-priced cars, like a Cadillac Escalade or a Porsche Cayenne sport utility vehicle, prosecutors said.

Willy and the government agreed his victims lost a minimum of $4,192,929, resulting in the restitution.

— Daniel Tedford