Anaheim Hills Man Pleads Guilty in Investment Fraud
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PHOENIX — A California man who authorities say masterminded a $1.5-million diamond investment fraud has pleaded guilty to all 25 charges against him and faces a 30-year prison sentence.
Frank D’Arelli, 42, of Anaheim Hills entered a plea bargain Monday in U.S. District Court and admitted defrauding investors in Arizona and California over a three-year period.
D’Arelli allegedly promised investors a 300% return within a few days if they invested in Belgian diamonds being smuggled through Mexico. Authorities said the diamonds never existed and Arizona investors alone lost more than $900,000.
D’Arelli, scheduled to be sentenced April 11 by U.S. District Court Judge Earl Carroll, said he gambled away all of the investors’ money in Las Vegas.
“I’m greedy. I gambled. I wanted money fast and I made a mistake,” said D’Arelli, who was indicted by a state grand jury July 8 and arrested here Feb. 19.
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