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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The founder and manager of two Beverly Hills hedge funds pleaded guilty today to federal fraud charges, admitting that he ran a Ponzi scheme targeting family members who suffered losses of more than $25 million.

Bradley L. Ruderman, 46, of Beverly Hills, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of investment adviser fraud related to the Ponzi scheme he ran from 2003 through 2009. Ruderman also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of failing to file a federal income tax return for the year 2007.
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A Glendale man was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison for orchestrating a $14 million Ponzi scheme, one of the three frauds that led him to plead guilty in three separate cases earlier this year.

Antoine David Haroutunian, 47, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Percy Anderson in relation to the Ponzi scheme. In addition to the prison term, Judge Anderson ordered Haroutunian to pay nearly $10.7 million in restitution, including an initial payment of more than $850,000 that is due immediately.
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A former player with the Tennessee Titans pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal fraud charges related to a $5 million Ponzi scheme in which he collected funds with promises of high rates of returns on investments in loan programs, including multimillion dollar condominium projects in Mexico.

Reed Kyle Diehl, 30, of Coto de Caza, pleaded guilty this afternoon in United States District Court to three counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
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