(JTA) — An Iranian Jewish real estate investor in Los Angeles was found guilty of fraud after he was accused of stealing $21 million from clients.
Ezri Namvar, 59, was convicted May 19 in Los Angeles federal court on four counts of wire fraud and faces up to 80 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for August.
Namvar is accused of misusing $21 million of the $25 million garnered from the real estate transactions of four clients of his Namco Financial Exchange Corp. The clients had deposited the money with the company until it could be reinvested.
Members of the Persian Jewish community in Los Angeles also are suing Namvar for hundreds of millions of dollars that he was supposed to invest. They say Namvar took the money and created a Ponzi scheme in order to use the funds for personal expenses, including his brother’s wedding.
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