A former stockbroker from Chino Hills was sentenced Tuesday to 6½ years in jail after pleading responsible to working a $3.2-million securities fraud scheme that focused low-income Latinos, based on federal prosecutors.
Robert Louis Cirillo, 61, was additionally ordered by U.S. District Decide David O. Carter to pay greater than $3.9 million in restitution, based on a U.S. Division of Justice information launch. Cirillo’s funding fraud led to a lack of greater than $3.2 million, whereas a separate scheme concentrating on a senior citizen resulted in a lack of $400,000. Cirillo was additionally accused of underpaying his earnings taxes by $675,898.
Cirillo pleaded responsible in June to securities fraud, submitting a false tax return and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, prosecutors mentioned. Cirillo was accused of deceiving greater than 100 individuals from 2014 to 2021 by telling them he would make investments their funds in short-term building loans that will yield returns of 15% to 30% for as much as three months.
Cirillo confirmed his buyers faux financial institution statements however actually, by no means invested their cash and used it on private bills, reminiscent of a visit to Las Vegas, bank card funds and two vehicles, based on prosecutors.
Cirillo focused Latino victims of “restricted means,” together with one one who invested her life financial savings of $20,000 within the rip-off, prosecutors mentioned. Cirillo mentioned in his plea settlement that he threatened victims after they realized that they have been being defrauded.
Cirillo additionally participated in a separate “grandparent rip-off” within the spring of 2021, by which he falsely instructed an 82-year-old that his grandson had been arrested for drug possession, based on prosecutors. Cirillo’s co-conspirators instructed the grandparent to ship $400,000 for “bail,” which truly went to Cirillo’s checking account.
In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Cirillo allegedly filed false earnings tax returns and didn’t report greater than $3 million in earnings, prosecutors mentioned. On his 2017 federal tax return, Cirillo reported solely $30,985 in earnings, failing to embrace the greater than $1.9 million he received from his securities fraud scheme, based on prosecutors.
“[Cirillo’s] conduct was despicable, notably as a result of he was partaking in an affinity crime by exploiting members of the Latino neighborhood, most of whom have been of modest means, and a few of whom misplaced their life financial savings,” prosecutors mentioned.
