A former Ameriprise broker was sentenced on Monday to 14 years in prison for scamming older clients out of more than $12 million from their retirement savings as part of a real estate investment scheme, according to the Department of Justice.
Paul Ricky Mata, 58, of Oceanside, California, was sentenced by District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who also ordered Mata to pay $12.56 million in restitution. Mata was remanded to federal custody after the hearing, DOJ said in a news release.
As of Wednesday afternoon, a sentencing document had yet to be posted on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California's website.
Ameriprise did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its former broker's sentencing. Mata had been a rep for the firm from 1988 until 2009, according to his report on FINRA's BrokerCheck website.
17 Felonies
On July 19, Mata pleaded guilty to 17 felonies: 11 counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding, one count of concealing assets in bankruptcy, and one count of making a false oath and accounts in bankruptcy, according to a court document.
From August 2008 to September 2015, Mata caused clients to invest in several of his businesses, including Secured Capital, Logos Real Estate and other ventures, DOJ said.
Mata also made false statements on bankruptcy court documents in October 2016, including that he had not used any business names in the prior eight years, and that he had not filed for bankruptcy protection in the previous eight years. In fact, Mata had previously filed for bankruptcy in June 2010, according to DOJ.
During the bankruptcy proceeding, Mata fraudulently concealed his personal property, including a 2008 Mini Cooper automobile and a 2001 Jeep, from the government and from his creditors, DOJ said.
At a bankruptcy hearing in November 2016, Mata lied when he denied he had transferred anything to family or friends in the previous four years, DOJ alleged. In reality, in October 2016, Mata transferred the Mini Cooper to his daughter and, in August 2016, he transferred his Upland, California, home to his wife, according to DOJ.
