Ventura man sentenced to 8 years for investment fraud costing victims over One Million Dollars

pharm arial, thumb sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;”>Gilbert Ramon Infante (DOB 1/21/1960) of Ventura has been sentenced to eight years in prison for fraudulently promoting investments over a 10-year period. Infante pled guilty on May 18, 2016, to 13 felony counts of securities fraud and identity theft and admitted special allegations related to the large amount of the theft. This case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.

From 2006 through 2016, Infante solicited dozens of victims, most of whom were Ventura County residents, to invest money with him. The investments ostensibly funded development and marketing of sports-related products Infante claimed he invented and owned. Infante persuaded investors his products were commercially viable and would produce spectacular returns. Infante told victims he was pursuing patents and had obtained licensing deals with major professional sports organizations, franchises, and product manufacturers. To support his false claims, Infante circulated agreements purportedly between his company and third-party companies. The companies never did business with Infante and the agreements were forged.

The specific charges Infante admitted related to recent crimes resulting in losses to 12 victims totaling $300,000. Ventura Superior Court Judge Patricia Murphy ordered Infante to pay restitution to victims he defrauded as early as 2006. In total Infante was ordered to pay restitution to 111 victims totaling approximately $1,050,000.

Prior Press Release:  Ventura man arrested on 27 counts of scamming County residents

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