Los Angeles, California – LAWFUEL – This afternoon, United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder sentenced the operator of fraudulent investment companies to spend 108 months in federal prison for defrauding investors out of over $1,000,000. .
William Richard Vorburger, Jr., 48, of Oxnard, who operated Valley Precision Imaging and Desert Medical Imaging, both body scanning clinics, and Multivision, an internet shopping website, was sentenced after pleading guilty last year to mail fraud and money laundering charges related to his scheme. In addition to prison, Judge Snyder ordered Vorburger to spend 3 years on supervised release after serving his sentence. Further, Vorburger was ordered to pay restitution to his victims totaling $1,009,407.
In his guilty plea, Vorburger admitted that he caused victims to send over $1 million to the fraudulent investment companies he operated.
Vorburger’s plea agreement details that in his solicitation of investments from victims, he fraudulently told them that he would use their money to further the businesses which, in turn, would result in high rates of return. Further, Vorburger admitted that none of the businesses ever actually started running and none ever made a profit. Further, the victims lost all of the money they had invested with Vorburger based upon his fraudulent claims.
Vorburger admitted that he spent only a small portion of the victim’s money on any kind of business expenses, spending the remaining money on his own personal expenses and other unauthorized costs. In total, Vorburger induced approximately 15 victims to send over $1,000,000 to his fraudulent investment companies.
In sentencing position papers filed with the court, the government detailed that Vorburger put undue pressure on his mostly elderly victims. Vorburger would tell his victims that if they did not send in more money, they would lose everything they had already invested when, in fact, Vorburger had already spent all the money the victims had sent him. Vorburger failed to disclose this fact to his victims in these instances.
The government’s sentencing papers specify that Vorburger squandered over $500,000 of his victim’s money on expenditures such as car payments, drugs, trips to places like Las Vegas and St. Thomas, tattoos, and even bail bonds for various individuals. Vorburger spent his victim’s money while telling them that he did not receive a salary and that he would make his money when the investments paid off.
IRS – Criminal Investigation Special Agent-in-Charge Debra D. King stated: “IRS – Criminal Investigation is committed to the investigation of investment scheme promoters that prey upon innocent victims for their own financial gain. The sentencing of William Vorburger to a lengthy term of imprisonment is evidence of that commitment. IRS-Criminal Investigation, together with our law enforcement partners, is united in our resolve to seek out and prosecute those fraudsters who exploit their victims for their own personal gain.”
“Today’s sentencing shows that a joint law enforcement investigation by both the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service will ensure that scammers such as Mr. Vorburger will no longer be able to take advantage of our senior citizens while in their retirement”, said Acting Inspector in Charge Nichole Cooper of the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Judge Snyder ordered Vorburger to begin serving his sentence on July 7, 2008.
The investigation into Vorburger and his fraudulent investment companies was conducted by agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
