Orange County man sentenced to 15 years in prison for real estate scam
An Orange County man will spend the next 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to running a house-flipping scam that generated more than $17 million in investments.
Brett Barber, 45, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to two counts of wire fraud and one count of contempt, for violating a court order during his pretrial release.
"This defendant enriched himself through a fraudulent investment scheme that solicited millions of dollars from retirement funds belonging to his victims, including older adults," United States Attorney Martin Estrada said.
The Department of Justice said Barber participated in two schemes to defraud investors out of both money and property between May 2019 and October 2021 through the two companies, Newport-based BNZ Capital LLC and National American Capital. Federal prosecutors said he failed to mention to investors that he was barred from acting as or associating with a broker-dealer by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
At BNZ, Barber and his colleagues promised investors "guaranteed" returns between 8% and 10% along with potential bonuses based on successful deals. Barber also told investigators that the funds were "FDIC insured" and "safe," according to court documents from the Justice Department.
However, the company used the money to pay off Barber and his associates instead of purchasing land or real estate, according to the DOJ. The scheme generated roughly $13.8 million from the investors, at least five of whom were elderly. Barber kept nearly $3 million of his investor's money.
"There may not have been bloodshed, but this was real violence," Judge Otis D. Wright II said during the sentencing. "[The defendant] knew these people were in their golden years, and he just took it all."
Once Barber realized federal investigators started looking into BNZ Capital, he started another similar scheme through National American Capital. The scam netted a $3.5 million loss for investors, nearly $390,000 of which went to Barber, according to the DOJ.
The scheme continued until October 2021 when Barber met with an undercover agent posing as a potential investor. During the meeting, Barber continued to spew lies about his company, according to the Justice Department.
A federal grand jury indicted him the same month. Authorities released Barber after he posted his bond. However, he violated the terms of the pretrial release and fled from police, causing the United States Marshals Service to launch a two-month manhunt.
In March 2023, they tracked him down to Santa Cruz County.
