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California real estate mogul, Kenneth W. Mason, has been arrested and charged with running a 15-year Ponzi scheme that defrauded hundreds of investors out of nearly $30 million. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, Mason was arrested Thursday and faces seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of obstruction of justice.
Mason, 63, was the president of LeFever Mattson in Citrus Heights, Sacramento County, which controlled several limited partnerships that owned commercial and residential properties. He obtained millions from hundreds of investors, many nearing retirement or already retired, by promising their money would be invested in "legitimate and safe" real estate partnerships.
In reality, Mason used new investors' money to pay earlier investors, a classic Ponzi scheme. Instead of delivering promised returns, he cheated investors out of their life savings. Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins stated that Mason will now face charges for perpetrating the scheme.
Between 2009 and 2024, Mason solicited investments in two companies, telling investors their money would be placed into a partnership owning an apartment complex in Riverside County. However, he did not disclose these investors to LeFever Mattson's books and records. Some "off-books" investors received payments, but prosecutors claim Mason used loans and new investors' money to make the payments.
After selling one of the complexes for $8 million, Mason concealed the sale from victims and continued recruiting new investors in the complex. When the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating in 2024, Mason allegedly deleted thousands of relevant files. He obtained at least $28 million from investments in the two companies alone.
Mason appeared in court Friday, facing up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud and obstruction of justice, and 10 years on the money laundering count. Authorities urge anyone who believes they were "off-books" investors to come forward and visit https://forms.fbi.gov/victims/lfminvestors. The investigation is ongoing.
