Darcey Greenfield, 39, a former Los Angeles police officer was charged with defrauding a handful of San Bernardino County people in an investment scam had been running real estate investment schemes for years and is suspected of bilking at least $2 million from fellow LAPD officers and other investors.
She surrendered Wednesday May 11, 2011 to investigators from the San Bernardino County district attorney's real estate fraud unit.
She faces multiple felony charges, including the sale of false investment securities, the
sale of securities without a license, and
grand theft.
The criminal charges filed by San Bernardino County prosecutors stem from investments Greenfield allegedly solicited in 2007 and 2008.
Greenfield purportedly persuaded victims in San Bernardino County to invest their savings, totaling $265,000, in investment securities.
Greenfield told the victims that the investment money would be used to help homeowners in foreclosure, according to the district attorney's office. The victims were promised they would get back a high rate of return and their principal, but they received nothing.
She is suspected of taking money from victims outside of San Bernardino County as well. San Bernardino County officials allege she collected more than $3 million from Los Angeles residents.
At least 13 LAPD employees are known from Greenfield's court records to have invested with her, including four detectives and five supervising sergeants. Police officials say they suspect that the total was higher because officers were probably pooling their money and investing under a single name.
At least three officers, including Greenfield, have declared bankruptcy. Others went further into debt to pay back friends and relatives who gave them money to invest.
Greenfield is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Her bail is set at $1,020,000.
Securities fraud, also known as investor or stock fraud, covers a range of activities that violate federal and state laws pertaining to buying, selling and trading securities. The most common forms of
securities fraud include:
•Misrepresentation (presenting misleading or false information to investors about a company, or its securities)
•Accounting fraud (manipulating or falsifying books or records to misrepresent a public companies assets and liabilities)
•Insider trading (buying, selling or trading securities based on information that is not readily available to the general public)
Securities fraud is governed by both federal and state laws, and legal actions can be brought about by private investors or by a government agency, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Violations of federal securities laws are treated as serious offenses that can carry both civil and criminal penalties. Criminal investigations can lead to felony convictions that carry penalties of up to 20 years' imprisonment.
Theft offenses are covered by the Penal Code.
Penal Code §484 is misdemeanor petty theft for the taking of property valued at less than four hundred dollars.
A petty theft charge is a misdemeanor offense and can result in a 1 year jail sentence and restitution.
If the value is over four hundred dollars, the charge is grand theft under Penal Code §487.
Grand theft is a "wobbler" meaning it can be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Either way
grand theft is a serious charge and can result in lengthy jail sentences.
If you or someone you know is being charged with any type of fraud,
theft, or any other state or federal crime, we at
Hedding Law Firm have the qualifications and experience to defend you and fight on your behalf.
Contact us for a FREE face to face confidential, no obligation consultation.