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SACRAMENTO — California’s attorney general on Friday charged 15 people with conspiring to defraud mostly elderly victims of Filipino descent out of a combined $5 million.
They’re accused of bilking at least 30 victims mostly in the Sacramento and Stockton areas through what Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged was an international Ponzi scheme framed around the construction of the Pagudpud Sands Resort.
Bonta said the resort in the Philippines hasn’t opened or produced any income. His office could not immediately say if any of those charged have defense attorneys.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants have lied to potential investors at group sales presentations since late 2015 to encourage their investments.
One 83-year-old invested $230,000, the charges say, while others invested tens of thousands of dollars. An 84-year-old woman put in $500,000.
The perpetrators falsely said a major, well-known hotel company had agreed to manage the resort,…
