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After an eight-day trial, a former El Dorado County resident was found guilty Thursday<\/a> in a federal case regarding a series of fraudulent schemes.<\/p>\n Amid the nearly $1 million scandal, Daniel Chartraw, formerly of South Lake Tahoe, was accused of controlling companies, including Crypto-Pal LLC. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of California said he and other individuals acting on his behalf represented Crypto-Pal to investors as a cryptocurrency trading company with guaranteed high returns andno risk.<\/p>\n Chartraw, 53, worked with investors via phone calls, text, email and virtual meetings, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, often using \u201cLeonard\u201d or \u201cLeon\u201d as an alias.<\/p>\n Prosecutors say Chartraw, who also has ties to Lodi, built trust through personal and professional relationships by using false account statements to misrepresent data for additional investment funds.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen investors attempted to recover their money or questioned delays, he provided excuses, deflected responsibility, or stopped communicating altogether,\u201d the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n Chartraw regularly used Crypto-Pal\u2019s bank account to withdraw cash, make purchases and transfer investor funds into account he personally controlled, according to the Attorney\u2019s Office, causing a total loss to investors of nearly $1 million.<\/p>\n Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb is expected to sentence Chartraw on Sept. 28, according to a release. He faces up to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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