Asset manager sentenced to 7 years in prison for scheme that bilked investors of millions

Federal courthouse in downtown San Diego File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego The founder and CEO of a San Diego-based financial firm that defrauded casualties out of millions of dollars sentenced Friday to federal prison Carlos Manuel da Silva Santos pleaded guilty in January to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft U S District Judge Robert S Huie sentenced him Friday to months in custody He had faced a maximum sentence of years in prison and fine on the conspiracy count alone Santos headed Ethos Asset Management Inc which the U S Attorney s Office noted scammed casualties out of more than million in the United States alone Though his plea agreement outlines the domestic losses prosecutors say they plan to offer evidence at a future hearing that Santos owes significantly more money to various other casualties both here and abroad including in Brazil and Turkey Prosecutors say Ethos offered loans to prospective borrowers who paid upfront fees as collateral but the funds often were not provided Other times the loans were made up of collateral fees paid by other borrowers Santos and others at Ethos also made numerous misrepresentations about the company s ability to provide loans and altered financial statements to falsely represent Ethos assets according to the U S Attorney s Office For example the U S Attorney s Office disclosed Santos forged the signature of a bookkeeping firm employee to falsely represent that an audited financial declaration for Ethos evidenced it had over billion in total assets Another time Santos sent a borrower a bank message that falsely stated Ethos had more than million which led the borrower to wire Ethos money Santos a Portuguese national has been in custody since his November arrest in New Jersey One of his defense attorneys Marcus Bourassa argued at Friday s sentencing that the offenses were not tied to greed but rather to a desire to ensure his firm was accomplished Bourassa explained Ethos completed numerous legitimate deals but added that at the same time the company was substantially over-promising to its clients He set out in the world hoping to ascertained a company that would be flourishing and grow the way he thought would fulfill his possible and the expectations of him Along the way he made decision after decision to lie in operation of that dream Bourassa commented