In what is believed to be the longest sentence ever handed down in a white-collar case in this district, the mastermind of a Riverside-based Ponzi scheme that collected well over $60 million from hundreds of investors – and caused more than $39 million in losses – was sentenced today to 100 years in federal prison.

Richard Monroe Harkless, 65, who lived in Riverside when he ran the scheme through a company he called MX Factors from 2000 until late 2003, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips in federal court in Riverside.
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