Ponzi and Mortgage Fraud Defendants Plead Guilty

SACRAMENTO, CA—John Hagener, 77, of Granite Bay, and Dawn C. Powers, 43, of Lincoln, separately pleaded guilty today to conspiracy charges, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Hagener pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud, and Powers pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a mortgage fraud conspiracy and a large-scale Ponzi scheme in Northern California allegedly run by Lawrence Lee Loomis, aka Lawrence Leland Loomis. Loomis and his father-in-law, Hagener, operated a Ponzi scheme in 2007 and 2008 that victimized more than 100 people and caused more than $7 million of losses related to the sale of shares in an investment program called the Naras Funds.

A previously filed indictment charged Loomis and four other defendants, including Powers, in two related mortgage fraud schemes that caused more than $10 million in losses to mortgage lenders and others. The charges are pending against Loomis and three other defendants. An October 2014 trial date has been set before Judge John A. Mendez in Sacramento. The charges are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Paul A. Hemesath is prosecuting the case. The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed separate proceedings against Hagener in an ongoing case.

Hagener and Powers are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge John A. Mendez on June 10, 2014. They face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.