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Former President of Investment Company Sentenced to Serve 63 Months in Federal Prison for Fraud and Ordered to Pay $4.5 Million in Restitution

U.S. Attorney’s Office April 15, 2009
  • Southern District of California (619) 557-5610

United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Donald Manning, formerly the President of “The Brixon Group Ltd.” a high-yield investment company, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in San Diego by the Honorable Barry Ted Moskowitz to serve 63 months in federal custody, based on Manning’s convictions for conspiracy and wire fraud. In addition to the custodial sentence, Judge Moskowitz ordered that Manning serve a three-year term of supervised release following his release from prison and pay $4,553,418.64 in restitution to the victims in the case.

According to Assistant United States Attorneys William Cole and John Owens, who prosecuted the case, more than 90 victims lost a total of over $4.5 million in the Brixon scheme. Many victims were retirees and members of Manning’s family who invested, and lost, their retirement savings.

According to court records, Manning and his coconspirators, Joseph Wayne McCool and Cameron Campbell, used Brixon to fraudulently solicit millions of dollars from members of the public, supposedly for participation in high-yield investment programs. Manning and his coconspirators induced people to invest in Brixon by falsely representing that the investments would generate returns of 10 percent per month, that

McCool was a banking expert who, prior to working with Brixon, had successfully managed a large private trust in Europe, and that proceeds from Brixon were used to fund humanitarian projects around the world.

As part of his guilty plea, Manning admitted that he and his coconspirators intentionally concealed from investors that most of the money invested in Brixon would not be placed into investments and that new funds received from investors would be used to make payments to earlier investors. Manning also admitted that he intentionally concealed from investors the fact that, just prior to operating Brixon, McCool had served more than two years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. Manning further admitted that he and his coconspirators converted much of the investors’ money to their own personal use.

Both the United States Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation acknowledged the assistance of the Arizona Corporation Commission in the investigation.

Law enforcement continues to seek the public's assistance in locating Joseph Wayne McCool, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

DEFENDANT
Donald Manning

Case No. 06-CR-1021-BTM

SUMMARY OF CHARGES
One Count -- Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 - Conspiracy to Commit Offenses Against the U.S. One Count -- Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 - Wire Fraud

PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation Arizona Corporation Commission

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