The Sacramento Bee yesterday reported that three more were charged with impersonating federal agents in an apparent attempt to recover money for victims of the alleged Equity Investments ponzi fraud scheme in Folsom:
A federal grand jury indicted Craig W. Anderson, Cassandra Moore and Sean Smartt with conspiring to impersonate federal agents, prosecutors said Friday. Also indicted was Michael David Sanders, who was originally charged in March.
The bizarre case grows out of the indictment against Anthony Vassallo of Folsom, who was charged with running a $40 million Ponzi scheme that lured an estimated 150 investors. Vassallo, 29, allegedly promised outlandish returns in his Equity Investment Management and Trading Inc. The firm was shut down earlier this year, and officials said they've been able to recover only $1.2 million.
The new indictment describes an armed confrontation between the Sanders foursome and three people, identified as "hedge fund operators," in Folsom March 8.
The foursome allegedly walked into the office wearing bulletproof vests, earpieces, handcuffs and badges. Anderson and Sanders, who carried guns, said they were from the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission. Anderson threatened to handcuff anyone who tried to leave. One of the four, speaking into his earpiece, said there was a "unit in place" at the home of one of the hedge fund operators, according to the indictment.
The group said it had arrived to recover money taken from victims of Equity Investment's scheme. Anderson demanded that the hedge fund operators wire $378,300.16 to a credit union account held by something called the Spirit Foundation, the indictment said. Prosecutor Robin Taylor, an assistant U.S. attorney, said the money was never wired.
Sanders' lawyer, W. Russell Fields, said his client was innocent of any wrongdoing and was merely trying to help the victims.