ABQ Times

Following a week-and-a-half-long trial, a federal jury in Albuquerque has convicted an Arizona man on multiple charges related to a fraudulent investment scheme. The jury deliberated for less than four hours before finding John Lopez guilty of 17 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of mail fraud, and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions involving property derived from unlawful activity.

Court documents and evidence presented at the trial revealed that Lopez, aged 73, operated the fraudulent scheme through his company, Personal Money Management Company (PMMCO), over an eight-year period from 2014 to 2021. He claimed to have developed a sophisticated algorithm for trading stocks and bonds that promised high annual returns ranging from 10 to 19 percent. Many clients were misled into believing their funds were invested in stocks and bonds when they were actually used to purchase precious metals. Lopez even offered one investment with a purported annual return rate of 42% over two decades.

Lopez collected approximately $19.4 million from clients but used about $13.3 million to buy precious metals and distributed around $6.1 million as part of a Ponzi scheme, falsely presenting these payouts as investment gains. Throughout the operation, he provided clients with fake account statements showing substantial growth in their investments. When government agents seized PMMCO’s assets in November 2021, they discovered that the total asset value was under $15 million despite Lopez's claims that client accounts were worth about $39 million.

Despite the asset seizure, Lopez continued attracting new clients by falsely representing his history of above-market returns and issuing deceptive account statements.

Prosecutors requested that Lopez be taken into custody following his convictions; however, the Court allowed him to remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which is yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, he faces up to 20 years in prison without parole.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office.

The case was investigated by the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the U.S. Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.

Additionally, on April 15, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated a separate civil forfeiture action seeking to forfeit assets seized in November 2021; litigation in this civil proceeding continues.