Hedge Fund Manager Pleads Guilty to Operating Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/hedge-fund-manager-pleads-guilty-operating-multi-million-dollar-ponzi-scheme

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Hedge Fund Manager Pleads Guilty to Operating Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme

BOSTON – A Boston-area hedge fund manager pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to running a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.

Raymond K. Montoya, 70, of Allston, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, and two counts of conducting an unlawful monetary transaction. U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. scheduled sentencing for Jan. 22, 2019. Montoya was charged by a criminal complaint and arrested in August 2017.

Between 2009 and June 2017, Montoya ran a pooled investment hedge fund in Boston called RMA Strategic Opportunity Fund, LLC. Montoya falsely told his investors—including his family, friends, and acquaintances who resided in Massachusetts, Ohio, and California—that the fund was earning substantial returns, when in fact, by 2014, the RMA Fund was sustaining substantial losses. The investors transferred millions of dollars of their personal savings and 401(k) retirement plans to Montoya and the RMA Fund. Montoya told the investors that he would invest their money in stocks and bonds, but he actually invested only a portion of their money, while diverting the rest—totaling millions of dollars—to business and personal bank accounts. Montoya used the diverted money for personal expenses such as luxury vehicles and the mortgage on his son’s residence.
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[nitpicker]

1. From a lawyer's ad:

https://www.johnschapman.com/fraud-alert/massachusetts-man-defrauds-investors-millions/

(snip)
Galvin also stated that within the past three years alone, Montoya raised $30 million from investors, but transferred less than $16 million to brokerage accounts. Galvin also alleged that Montoya made several false claims, including inflating returns and exaggerating the size of his investment funds.
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