Gary Ray Bassett Arraigned on Investment Fraud Charges

SAN JOSE, CA—Gary Ray Bassett was arraigned yesterday on an indictment charging him with 10 counts of wire and mail fraud, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

According to an indictment filed in San Jose federal district court on Dec. 4, 2008, and unsealed on May 4, 2009, as well as statements made in open court, Bassett, 60, formerly of Felton, Calif., carried out an investment fraud scheme from 2004 to 2006 in the Northern District of California. Bassett induced investors to wire or mail money to him based on false promises he made concerning how he was going to invest or use their money.

The indictment states that Bassett raised more than $1 million from more than 25 investors but failed to invest any of the money as he had promised. He also failed to provide virtually any of the investors with the interest they had been promised or repay their principal. Instead, the defendant converted nearly $350,000 of the investors’ funds for his personal use and into cash, and spent the remaining funds for purposes unrelated to his victims’ supposed investments.

Bassett was arrested on May 1, 2009, in Harlingen, Texas, pursuant to a sealed arrest warrant. A federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of Texas subsequently ordered Bassett detained pending his transportation to the Northern District of California. Bassett made his initial appearance in a federal court in San Jose yesterday, at which time United States Magistrate Judge Richard Seeborg ordered him detained as a flight risk.

Bassett is scheduled to return to court on June 8, 2009, when he will appear before United States District Judge James Ware.

The maximum statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud or mail fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Codes, Sections 1343 and 1341, is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Joseph Fazioli is the Assistant United States Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Legal Assistant Jeanne Carstensen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Please note: An Indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Bassett must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

Further Information:
Case #: 08-00865 JW

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Jack Gillund at (415) 436-6599 or by email at Jack.Gillund@usdoj.gov.

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