Former Fresno Investment Manager Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Defrauding Investors of More Than $3.3 Million

FRESNO, CA—Joseph Randall Medcalf, 56, formerly an investment manager in Fresno, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Anthony Ishii to six-and-a-half years in prison in a scheme to defraud investors, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Medcalf carried out a scheme to defraud investors from at least May 2002 through October 2007 by offering investment “opportunities” in entities that he controlled, such as All Valley Holdings LLC, CenCal Value Investments LLC, and other ventures. Medcalf failed to register these investments with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other governmental entities. Medcalf convinced some investors to move their investments from secure IRAs and other legitimate investments to him. In some cases, Medcalf’s investments were nonexistent; in other cases, they were failing and worthless. Medcalf frequently did not even invest the funds, but either paid other investors “returns” on their investments or spent it for his own personal use.

Medcalf marketed the investment opportunities as safe investments for a set time period, usually with a guaranteed interest rate. He stated that the principal and interest would be returned at the end of the term. In some cases, Medcalf executed promissory notes and subscription agreements that stated the investment’s time period and guaranteed rate of return. In order to lull investors into believing that the investments were secure, Medcalf sent out financial statements showing substantial returns. Medcalf also encouraged his investors to roll over their investments for another term so he could avoid paying out on the investments and to forestall the investors’ discovery of the fraud scheme. Medcalf also filed a bankruptcy petition in which he fraudulently failed to disclose his connection with All Valley Holdings and CenCal Value Investments in an effort to avoid disclosure of his scheme to defraud.

Medcalf was ordered to pay restitution of over $3.3 million to victims of his fraud scheme and was also ordered to forfeit an equivalent amount to the United States. Medcalf has been in custody since December 2011 when the FBI arrested him at the Atlanta airport as he flew back into the United States from overseas.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk Sherriff and Christopher Baker prosecuted the case.