Monday, Jun. 22, 2009
Alleged Ponzi scheme: Santa Maria mortgage exec faces more fraud lawsuits
The Santa Maria man had many clients and real estate investments in San Luis Obispo County
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closeAccusations of fraud continue to be leveled against Mike L. Wilson, a 55-year-old Santa Maria mortgage business owner with many San Luis Obispo County clients and real estate investments.
According to various lawsuits, most of the charges are based on allegations that Wilson operated a Ponzi scheme whereby he took money from investors promising it would be invested in secured real estate, but he instead used the money to pay off other investors to keep the scheme going.
At least six suits have been filed against Wilson in Santa Barbara County Superior Court since the end of March, alleging losses of more than $5 million that was supposed to go toward commercial and residential investments in Los Alamos, Santa Maria, Nipomo, Pismo Beach and San Ardo, a town in southern Monterey County.
In the most recent lawsuits, the allegations include forging real estate documents; failing to record assignments; promising investors they were more secured with real estate deeds than they actually were; failing to tell investors their loans were in default or had been paid off; falsely promising that the real estate loans would be no more than 50 percent of the appraised real estate value; and preying on seniors for financial gain.
Norman Mehl, 83, said he may have lost as much as $350,000 in loans to Wilson, according to Mehl’s suit filed on March 20. Wilson had gained Mehl’s trust and confidence in investment matters because he was a respected member of the Santa Maria community, Mehl said. Mehl said Wilson’s grandfather was believed to be the first judge in Santa Maria, and Wilson had been a member, along with Mehl, of the San Luis Yacht Club in Avila Beach.
“He’s a very lovable guy. I always took his word on things,” Mehl told The Tribune in an April interview.
Some of the suits have widened their accusations to include: Wilson’s real estate sales representatives, Gregory Olivas and Karen Ann Gruber (who also acted as a notary on Wilson’s behalf); Maralynn Haney, the officer and broker on record of Wilson’s PCM Loan Services; and Larry Thibeault, Wilson’s business partner in failed real estate projects in San Ardo, Pismo Beach and Los Alamos.
Claims made in filing the lawsuits represent just one side. Attempts to reach Wilson, Gruber and Olivas for comment have been unsuccessful.
In April, Thibeault told The Tribune that he blamed Wilson for the problems, including foreclosures on some of the San Ardo properties, because Wilson had stopped sending him the money he needed to make payments.
Haney filed a cross-complaint on June 1, stating that at no time did she authorize Wilson’s alleged activities. She is asking the court to have him pay for her court costs in defending herself against his alleged actions, according to her filing.
Wilson has hired two attorneys from Los Angeles for his defense, Mark Waeker and Oren Rosenthal. Waeker, who is handling the civil cases, could not be reached for comment.
Rosenthal said he was brought on by Wilson to handle any criminal charges that might be brought against him.
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