SoCal Man Used Prayer Meetings In $65M Ponzi Scam

CBS 2/KCAL 9 Has Reaction From A Devastated Victim And Video Of The Conman Running His Show Like A Preacher

They were prayer meetings with an evil purpose.

A Huntington Park man is headed to prison for luring working-class victims into a massive ponzi scheme that swindled them out of millions.

Angelica Chavez had no idea that the investment prayer meetings would come at the expense of her life savings.

"They always talk about God. And God wants the best for us," she said.

But Federal Investigators said Milton Retana only used prayer to persuade 2,300 Los Angeles residents like Chavez to part with $62 million.

"It's a predator investment fraud scheme except the difference between him and Bernie Madoff is he targeted working-class families right here in Los Angeles – in his own community," said Assistant U.S. Attorney James Bowman.

Operating out of an office in Huntington Park, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Retana set up Best Diamond funding.

He told investors that their money would be used to buy and sell real estate.

Chavez who was seriously injured on the job, invested her worker's compensation money and mortgaged the apartment she and her husband owned.

She said the high-interest rates checks came every month. Then almost immediately they stopped.

"I think it's a huge problem. There are a lot of other people out there doing this right now," Bowman said.

Now, with a crumbling marriage, unable to pay for her physical therapy or her kids' college and upside down on an apartment worth half of what she owes, Chavez is just one of a growing number Spanish-speaking Angelinos forced to start over.

"I'd like to build my life again," she said.

Retana was sentenced to 25 years in Federal prison Monday. Investigators were able to recover about $12 million only for victims.

Source: cbs2.com