THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
vs.
GARY RAY BASSETT
INDICTMENT
COUNT ONE - FIVE: 18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire Fraud
COUNT SIX - TEN: 18 U.S.C. S 1341 - Mail FraudA true bill.
Foreperson
Filed in open court this A.D. 2008, 3 day of December
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE )
Bail. $ NO BAIL WARRANT
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JOSEPH P. RUSSONIELLO (CASBN 44332)United States Attorney
DWHOTRTFILED2008 DEC -U A & 2e!
RICHARD W.VIIEKIHGCLERKU.S. DISTRICT COURTNO.DIST.OFCA.S.J.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTNORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIASAN JOSE DIVISIONJVilUNITED STATES OF AMERICA,Plaintiff,v.GARY RAY BASSETT,Defendant.QR-08 00865.VIOLATIONS: 18 U.S.C. § 1341 -MailFraud; 18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire FraudSAN JOSE VENUEUNDER SEALINDICTMENTThe Grand Jury charges:THE SCHEME TO DEFRAUD1. Beginning in approximately August 2004 and continuing until at least February2006, in the Northern District of California and elsewhere, the defendant, Gary Ray Bassett,("Bassett") along with other persons known and unknown, did knowingly devise, and intend todevise, a material scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money by means of materiallyfalse and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, knowing that those pretenses,representations and promises were false when made.2. The purpose of the scheme to defraud was for Bassett, a resident of California, toINDICTMENT
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enrich himself by inducing various investors to wire or mail money to him based upon Bassett'sfalse promises that he was going to invest or use their money in a specific manner. It was furtherpart of the scheme that Bassett induced investors to give him money by touting theaccomplishments of several investment vehicles he controlled - namely "the Vitruvian Society"and "the Encina Group." It was further part of the scheme to defraud that once Bassett obtainedmoney from investors, he did not invest those funds as promised but instead converted thatmoney for his own personal use and for other non-investment purposes.MANNER AND MEANS3. Bassett's fraudulent scheme involved him and his representatives telling potentialinvestors one and more of the following false statements to induce them to invest:(a) That Bassett would guarantee their investments and pay investors muchhigher rates of return than they could obtain elsewhere, as high as 8% to15% per month.(![cool.gif](http://ghostchild.4.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/cool.gif)
That 100% of the funds given to Bassett would be invested or used forpurposes described by him or his representatives and none for fees,commissions, business expenses, or for Bassett's personal use.© That Bassett was "pooling" money from investors in order to accumulatesufficient funds to:i. Enable Bassett to represent that his companies had significantcapital, thereby enhancing his ability to draw in other investors orto induce other individuals or companies to do business with him.ii. Qualify Bassett's companies for large amounts of credit, theproceeds of which would then be used for investment in varioushigh-yield investments.iii. Accumulate an amount sufficient to enable investors to participatein "institutional trading," which Bassett described in vague termsas "bank-to-bank trading" occurring offshore or overseas in suchlarge amounts, and with such frequency, that the profits generatedINDICTMENT 2
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would enable him to pay investors very high rates of return evenafter keeping a portion of the profits for himself and his companies.(d) That Bassett was investing in real estate, hedge funds, and varioushumanitarian projects.(e) That Bassett would provide investors with a "seasoned shell" or "seasonedshelf corporation which would appear to have been in existence forseveral years and would therefore qualify for a large amount of credit.4. In fact, each of the representations described in paragraph 3 was knowingly falsewhen made, in that:(a) Bassett knew that he had not and could not either guarantee the investors'principal or provide them with the high rates of return that he hadpromised.( Bassett knew that his practice was to spend 100% of the funds collectedfrom investors on personal expenditures for himself, his girlfriends, andother friends, as well as for the business expenses of his so-called"investment" vehicles as well as other unrelated companies.© Bassett knew that he never "pooled" investors' funds nor engaged in"institutional trading" or "bank to bank trading" as he had described toinvestors.(d) Bassett knew that he never actually invested any of the funds he receivedfrom investors, let alone invested in real estate, hedge funds, orhumanitarian projects.(e) Bassett knew that he had not and was not able to provide "seasoned"corporations as described, nor was he able to provide investors with accessto the substantial lines of credit limits that he had promised.5. In all, Bassett raised a total of over $1,000,000 from more than 25 investors, butfailed to invest any of this money as he had promised, and failed to provide virtually any of theinvestors with the interest they had been promised or repay their principal. Bassett insteadINDICTMENT 3
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converted nearly $350,000 of the investors' funds for his personal use and into cash, and spentthe remaining funds for purposes unrelated to his victims' supposed "investments."COUNTS ONE THROUGH FIVE: (18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire Fraud)6. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 5 are incorporated as iffully set forth here.7. On or about the dates indicated for each of Counts One through Five below, in theNorthern District of California and elsewhere, the defendant,GARY RAY BASSETT,and other persons known and unknown, having knowingly and intentionally devised a materialscheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money and property be means of materially false andfraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, did for the purpose of executing such schemeand artifice knowingly cause to be transmitted in interstate and foreign commerce certainwritings, signs, signals, and pictures, that is, wire transfers of funds, as further set forth below:COUNTDATEITEMWIRED FROMWIRED TO18/20/04$40,000 wire transferCommerce BankNew York, New YorkBank of AmericaCapitola, California28/25/04$50,000 wire transferCommerce BankNew York, New YorkBank of AmericaCapitola, California33/29/05$10,000 wire transferSouth Carolina Bankand Trust, Orangeburg,South CarolinaBank of AmericaCapitola, California46/30/05$150,000 wire transferFrontier Bank,Greeley, ColoradoBank of AmericaCapitola, California59/15/05$15,000 wire transferUnion ColonyGreeley, ColoradoBank of AmericaCapitola, CaliforniaAll in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.COUNTS SIX THROUGH TEN: (18 U.S.C. § 1341 -Mail Fraud)8. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 5 are incorporated as iffully set forth here.INDICTMENT
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9. On or about the dates listed for each of Counts Six through Ten below, in theNorthern District of California and elsewhere, the defendant,GARY RAY BASSETT,and other persons known and unknown, having knowingly and intentionally devised a materialscheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulentpretenses, representations and promises, did for the purpose of executing such scheme andartifice knowingly cause the correspondence described below to be mailed and delivered by theUnited States Postal Service and through a commercial interstate carrier:COUNTDATEITEM SENTSENT FROMSENT TO68/21/04Investment-relateddocumentsNew York, NY(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA79/21/04Investment-relateddocumentsRialto, CA(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA810/12/04Investment-relateddocumentsRialto, CA(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA92/15/05Investment-relateddocumentsSt. HelenaIsland, SC(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA106/30/05Investment-relateddocumentsGreely, CO(by FederalExpress)Felton, CAAll in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.DATED:3PERSONJOSEPH P. RUSSONIEL,UniteiLStates Attorne(Approved as to formINDICTMENT
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AO 257 (Rev. 6/78)D^jNDANTjNFORMA-WN RELATIVE TO A CRIMINAL AO»rfON - IN U.S. DISTRICT COURTBY: p COMPLAINT [J INFORMATION \/¡ INDICTMENT~j SUPERSEDINGName of District Court, and/or Judge/Magistrate LocationNORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIAPettyMinorMisde-meanorOFFENSE CHARGEDCOUNT ONE-FIVE: 18U.S.C. § 1343-WireFraudCOUNT SIX - TEN: 18U.S.C. § 1341-MailPENALTY:20 years imprisonment$250,000 fine3 years supervised release$100 special assessmentDEFENDANT-US.GARY RAY BASSETTDEC -HAS 2*-DISTRICTCOURT NUMBëDHARDW.WIEKING JIA*U.S. DISTRICT COUMÇl-08 0ÜS6SPVTPROCEEDINGName of Complaintant Agency, or Person (STitle, if any)i—i person is awaiting trial in another Federal or StateCourt, give name of courtthis person/proceeding is transferred from anotherJ district per (circle one) FRCrP 20, 21 or 40. ShowDistrictthis is a reprosecution of□ charges previously dismissedwhich were dismissed onmotion of;□ U.S. Atťy Q Defensethis prosecution relates to a_] ponding case involving this samedefendantprior proceedings or appearance(s)_[ before U.S. Magistrate regarding ^this defendant were rennrded under'SHOWDOCKET NO.MAGISTRATECASE NO.DEFENDANTIS NOT IN CUSTODY. . Has not been arrested, pending outcome this proceeding.1 ) (¿| If not detained give date any prior summonsiwas served on above charges W2) [J Is a Fugitive3) LJ Is on Bail or Release from (show District)Name and Office of PersonFurnishing Information onTHIS FORMJOSEPH P.RUSSONIELLO[2 U.S. Atťy [J Other U.S. AgencyIS IN CUSTODY4) r_] On this charge5) r_] On another convictionq\ i—i Mwamng trial on otnerIf answer to (6) is "Yes", show name of Institution} fj Fed'l fj StateHas detainerbeen lileď>DATE OFARRESTD Yes□ NoIf "Yes"give datefiledMonth/Day/YearOr... if Arresting Agency & Warrant were notDATE TRANSFERRED! Momh/Da»/Y",rTO U.S. CUSTODY ~Name of Asst. U.S. Att'y(If assigned) ausa Joseph a. fazioliPROCESS:□ SUMMONS fj NO PROCESS*If Summons, complete following:I I Arraignment [] Initial AppearanceDefendant Address:; O This report amends AO 257 previously submittedADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS2 WARRANT Bail Amount: no bail'Where defendant previously apprehended on complaint, no new summonsor warrant needed, since Magistrate has scheduled arraignmentDate/Time:Before Judge:Comments:
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to read the idictment on Gary Ray Bassett proper, it would be wise to go to the PDF document at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/press_...0Indictment.pdf
Prairyearth
vs.
GARY RAY BASSETT
INDICTMENT
COUNT ONE - FIVE: 18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire Fraud
COUNT SIX - TEN: 18 U.S.C. S 1341 - Mail FraudA true bill.
Foreperson
Filed in open court this A.D. 2008, 3 day of December
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE )
Bail. $ NO BAIL WARRANT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 2
JOSEPH P. RUSSONIELLO (CASBN 44332)United States Attorney
DWHOTRTFILED2008 DEC -U A & 2e!
RICHARD W.VIIEKIHGCLERKU.S. DISTRICT COURTNO.DIST.OFCA.S.J.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTNORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIASAN JOSE DIVISIONJVilUNITED STATES OF AMERICA,Plaintiff,v.GARY RAY BASSETT,Defendant.QR-08 00865.VIOLATIONS: 18 U.S.C. § 1341 -MailFraud; 18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire FraudSAN JOSE VENUEUNDER SEALINDICTMENTThe Grand Jury charges:THE SCHEME TO DEFRAUD1. Beginning in approximately August 2004 and continuing until at least February2006, in the Northern District of California and elsewhere, the defendant, Gary Ray Bassett,("Bassett") along with other persons known and unknown, did knowingly devise, and intend todevise, a material scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money by means of materiallyfalse and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, knowing that those pretenses,representations and promises were false when made.2. The purpose of the scheme to defraud was for Bassett, a resident of California, toINDICTMENT
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Page 3
enrich himself by inducing various investors to wire or mail money to him based upon Bassett'sfalse promises that he was going to invest or use their money in a specific manner. It was furtherpart of the scheme that Bassett induced investors to give him money by touting theaccomplishments of several investment vehicles he controlled - namely "the Vitruvian Society"and "the Encina Group." It was further part of the scheme to defraud that once Bassett obtainedmoney from investors, he did not invest those funds as promised but instead converted thatmoney for his own personal use and for other non-investment purposes.MANNER AND MEANS3. Bassett's fraudulent scheme involved him and his representatives telling potentialinvestors one and more of the following false statements to induce them to invest:(a) That Bassett would guarantee their investments and pay investors muchhigher rates of return than they could obtain elsewhere, as high as 8% to15% per month.(
That 100% of the funds given to Bassett would be invested or used forpurposes described by him or his representatives and none for fees,commissions, business expenses, or for Bassett's personal use.© That Bassett was "pooling" money from investors in order to accumulatesufficient funds to:i. Enable Bassett to represent that his companies had significantcapital, thereby enhancing his ability to draw in other investors orto induce other individuals or companies to do business with him.ii. Qualify Bassett's companies for large amounts of credit, theproceeds of which would then be used for investment in varioushigh-yield investments.iii. Accumulate an amount sufficient to enable investors to participatein "institutional trading," which Bassett described in vague termsas "bank-to-bank trading" occurring offshore or overseas in suchlarge amounts, and with such frequency, that the profits generatedINDICTMENT 2--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 4
would enable him to pay investors very high rates of return evenafter keeping a portion of the profits for himself and his companies.(d) That Bassett was investing in real estate, hedge funds, and varioushumanitarian projects.(e) That Bassett would provide investors with a "seasoned shell" or "seasonedshelf corporation which would appear to have been in existence forseveral years and would therefore qualify for a large amount of credit.4. In fact, each of the representations described in paragraph 3 was knowingly falsewhen made, in that:(a) Bassett knew that he had not and could not either guarantee the investors'principal or provide them with the high rates of return that he hadpromised.(
Bassett knew that his practice was to spend 100% of the funds collectedfrom investors on personal expenditures for himself, his girlfriends, andother friends, as well as for the business expenses of his so-called"investment" vehicles as well as other unrelated companies.© Bassett knew that he never "pooled" investors' funds nor engaged in"institutional trading" or "bank to bank trading" as he had described toinvestors.(d) Bassett knew that he never actually invested any of the funds he receivedfrom investors, let alone invested in real estate, hedge funds, orhumanitarian projects.(e) Bassett knew that he had not and was not able to provide "seasoned"corporations as described, nor was he able to provide investors with accessto the substantial lines of credit limits that he had promised.5. In all, Bassett raised a total of over $1,000,000 from more than 25 investors, butfailed to invest any of this money as he had promised, and failed to provide virtually any of theinvestors with the interest they had been promised or repay their principal. Bassett insteadINDICTMENT 3--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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converted nearly $350,000 of the investors' funds for his personal use and into cash, and spentthe remaining funds for purposes unrelated to his victims' supposed "investments."COUNTS ONE THROUGH FIVE: (18 U.S.C. § 1343 - Wire Fraud)6. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 5 are incorporated as iffully set forth here.7. On or about the dates indicated for each of Counts One through Five below, in theNorthern District of California and elsewhere, the defendant,GARY RAY BASSETT,and other persons known and unknown, having knowingly and intentionally devised a materialscheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money and property be means of materially false andfraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, did for the purpose of executing such schemeand artifice knowingly cause to be transmitted in interstate and foreign commerce certainwritings, signs, signals, and pictures, that is, wire transfers of funds, as further set forth below:COUNTDATEITEMWIRED FROMWIRED TO18/20/04$40,000 wire transferCommerce BankNew York, New YorkBank of AmericaCapitola, California28/25/04$50,000 wire transferCommerce BankNew York, New YorkBank of AmericaCapitola, California33/29/05$10,000 wire transferSouth Carolina Bankand Trust, Orangeburg,South CarolinaBank of AmericaCapitola, California46/30/05$150,000 wire transferFrontier Bank,Greeley, ColoradoBank of AmericaCapitola, California59/15/05$15,000 wire transferUnion ColonyGreeley, ColoradoBank of AmericaCapitola, CaliforniaAll in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.COUNTS SIX THROUGH TEN: (18 U.S.C. § 1341 -Mail Fraud)8. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 5 are incorporated as iffully set forth here.INDICTMENT
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9. On or about the dates listed for each of Counts Six through Ten below, in theNorthern District of California and elsewhere, the defendant,GARY RAY BASSETT,and other persons known and unknown, having knowingly and intentionally devised a materialscheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulentpretenses, representations and promises, did for the purpose of executing such scheme andartifice knowingly cause the correspondence described below to be mailed and delivered by theUnited States Postal Service and through a commercial interstate carrier:COUNTDATEITEM SENTSENT FROMSENT TO68/21/04Investment-relateddocumentsNew York, NY(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA79/21/04Investment-relateddocumentsRialto, CA(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA810/12/04Investment-relateddocumentsRialto, CA(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA92/15/05Investment-relateddocumentsSt. HelenaIsland, SC(by U.S. Mail)Boulder Creek, CA106/30/05Investment-relateddocumentsGreely, CO(by FederalExpress)Felton, CAAll in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.DATED:3PERSONJOSEPH P. RUSSONIEL,UniteiLStates Attorne(Approved as to formINDICTMENT
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AO 257 (Rev. 6/78)D^jNDANTjNFORMA-WN RELATIVE TO A CRIMINAL AO»rfON - IN U.S. DISTRICT COURTBY: p COMPLAINT [J INFORMATION \/¡ INDICTMENT~j SUPERSEDINGName of District Court, and/or Judge/Magistrate LocationNORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIAPettyMinorMisde-meanorOFFENSE CHARGEDCOUNT ONE-FIVE: 18U.S.C. § 1343-WireFraudCOUNT SIX - TEN: 18U.S.C. § 1341-MailPENALTY:20 years imprisonment$250,000 fine3 years supervised release$100 special assessmentDEFENDANT-US.GARY RAY BASSETTDEC -HAS 2*-DISTRICTCOURT NUMBëDHARDW.WIEKING JIA*U.S. DISTRICT COUMÇl-08 0ÜS6SPVTPROCEEDINGName of Complaintant Agency, or Person (STitle, if any)i—i person is awaiting trial in another Federal or StateCourt, give name of courtthis person/proceeding is transferred from anotherJ district per (circle one) FRCrP 20, 21 or 40. ShowDistrictthis is a reprosecution of□ charges previously dismissedwhich were dismissed onmotion of;□ U.S. Atťy Q Defensethis prosecution relates to a_] ponding case involving this samedefendantprior proceedings or appearance(s)_[ before U.S. Magistrate regarding ^this defendant were rennrded under'SHOWDOCKET NO.MAGISTRATECASE NO.DEFENDANTIS NOT IN CUSTODY. . Has not been arrested, pending outcome this proceeding.1 ) (¿| If not detained give date any prior summonsiwas served on above charges W2) [J Is a Fugitive3) LJ Is on Bail or Release from (show District)Name and Office of PersonFurnishing Information onTHIS FORMJOSEPH P.RUSSONIELLO[2 U.S. Atťy [J Other U.S. AgencyIS IN CUSTODY4) r_] On this charge5) r_] On another convictionq\ i—i Mwamng trial on otnerIf answer to (6) is "Yes", show name of Institution} fj Fed'l fj StateHas detainerbeen lileď>DATE OFARRESTD Yes□ NoIf "Yes"give datefiledMonth/Day/YearOr... if Arresting Agency & Warrant were notDATE TRANSFERRED! Momh/Da»/Y",rTO U.S. CUSTODY ~Name of Asst. U.S. Att'y(If assigned) ausa Joseph a. fazioliPROCESS:□ SUMMONS fj NO PROCESS*If Summons, complete following:I I Arraignment [] Initial AppearanceDefendant Address:; O This report amends AO 257 previously submittedADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS2 WARRANT Bail Amount: no bail'Where defendant previously apprehended on complaint, no new summonsor warrant needed, since Magistrate has scheduled arraignmentDate/Time:Before Judge:Comments:
-------------------------------------------------
to read the idictment on Gary Ray Bassett proper, it would be wise to go to the PDF document at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/press_...0Indictment.pdf
Prairyearth