Developer Indicted in $8M Ponzi Scheme
A Los Angeles developer is now facing a total of 110 felony charges, along with three special allegations, over allegedly orchestrating an $8 million Ponzi scheme related to building development. According to the press release from the office of California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, Jeffrey H. Tamkin is accused of operating the Tamkin Development Corporation and the Public Facilities Investment Corporation between 2010 and 2020.
Tamkin was involved in the development of buildings for public agencies, which he subsequently leased back to these agencies at a profit. His investors, of whom many were elderly, were baited with promises of high interest rates. Tamkin provided them with investment documents and brochures and personally guaranteed their investments, which many of his victims relied on.
The information presented to the investors, some of whom he recruited from organizations like Hillcrest Country Club, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the Music Center's Fraternity of Friends, omitted crucial details investors needed to assess the safety of their funds. For instance, Tamkin diverted investors' funds to cover his personal expenses and lifestyle. He also failed to disclose that TDC and PFIC were operating at a deficit or generating minimal revenue from 2010 to 2020. Furthermore, he failed to disclose that he was operating a Ponzi scheme by using funds from new investors to pay off previous ones. In reality, only two municipal projects were completed during the period of these investments.
Tamkin's actions resulted in significant financial losses, totaling several million dollars, for multiple victims over the course of a decade. The charges against Tamkin encompass securities fraud, grand theft, elder theft, money laundering, a fraudulent securities scheme, and an aggravated white-collar enhancement.
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