L.A. Clergyman Sentenced For Ponzi Scheme
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles clergyman who ran a Ponzi scheme that cost investors $4.6 million has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors say Luis Serna was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to wire fraud. He also was ordered to pay restitution.
Serna was a pastor at Zion Living Word Christian Center in San Fernando.
Prosecutors say he also ran a company that promised 82 victims that their loaned money would be invested in foreign currency with annual returns as high as 20 percent.
In his plea agreement, Serna said he invested only a small amount of loan proceeds and used most of the money from new investors to pay off earlier ones.
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