Gary Lee, 52, is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, Use of Unauthorized Access Devices, and Criminal Forfeiture for inducing people to invest in bogus real estate projects in Las Vegas, Nevada using fraudulent deeds of trust and promises of high returns on their investments. A warrant was issued for Lee’s arrest.

According to the court records, it is alleged that from about 1999 to November 2002, Gary Lee and William Kenneth Rick conspired to sell investment opportunities in multiple bogus real estate projects in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lee and Rick falsely represented to victims that their investments would be used to finance specific real estate and construction projects when the defendants knew that the proceeds from the victims’ investments were to be used to pay the monthly interest obligations on the victims’ investments, as well as interest obligations generated by the victims’ and other investors’ previous investments.

Lee and Rick knowingly caused fraudulent trust deeds, notes, and assignments of interest to be created and provided to the victims, in order to get the victims to believe that their investments were secured by particular real property. Lee and Rick also caused monthly interest payments to be mailed, and otherwise provided to the victims, to maintain the appearance of a successful investment business and to induce victims to invest in other loans. Using this scheme, Lee and Rick caused victims to invest and lose more than $7,000,000 in the phony real estate and construction projects.

There were three non-existent real estate projects for which defendant Lee allegedly solicited investments: the Horito Garage Investment , 2586 Meadows Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada; Liberty Motors Investment , 3199 East Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada; and the El Capitan Trailer Park , 4901 East Bonanza Road, Las Vegas, Nevada.

If convicted, Lee faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud count, up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on the Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering Count, up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the Use of Unauthorized Access Devices count, and up to $7 million in forfeitures.

William Kenneth Rick, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy and Money Laundering and was sentenced on February 9, 2007, to 50 months in prison and ordered to pay approximately $6.7 million in restitution.