A San Diego businesswoman pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud and obstruction of justice charges stemming from a $400 million Ponzi scheme, in which she took investor funds intended as loans for liquor licenses and funneled the money into her companies and for personal purchases, City News Service reported. Gina Champion-Cain, founder and former CEO of American National Investments, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission last summer for taking millions from investors and telling them the money would be used to support loans for people seeking California liquor licenses. Instead, she used the money for personal expenses, to fund her other businesses or to pay back other investors, prosecutors said. Champion-Cain faces a maximum possible term of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is slated for Oct. 13. Former American National Investments CFO Crispin Torres also pleaded guilty to helping Champion-Cain transfer investor funds from escrow accounts to keep her businesses afloat. Prosecutors said he also fabricated receipts and opened a bank account under a name similar to a well-known escrow company for investors to deposit their funds into, which “further supported the investors’ belief that the lending program was legitimate.” More than $400 million from more than 100 investors went into the scheme between 2012-19. Prosecutors said at least one financial institution lost more than $1 million, and that the loss to all investors ranges from $65 million to $150 million.
