๐๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ณ๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐
On September 8, 2025, William Matthew Ames was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Mark Ralphs to serve eight years in state prison after an El Dorado County jury found him guilty of three counts of Fraud in the Offering of a Security and three counts of Grand Theft by False Pretenses. The jury also found true a sentencing enhancement that adds one year to the sentence and requires that it be served in state prison because the crimes involved two or more related felonies in which fraud was a material element and the theft exceeded one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
At trial, evidence showed that Ames operated a sophisticated financial scheme through which he solicited dozens of El Dorado County residents to invest by making untrue statements of material fact to induce their participation. Ames supported his solicitations by drafting contracts and representing that the invested funds would be used to market new products, conduct research and development, and cover costs associated with equipment, materials, and tooling. Instead, Ames spent the money on himself.
This case was prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Unit of the El Dorado County District Attorneyโs Office, which is tasked with handling complex financial crimes including securities, welfare, real estate, and insurance fraud.
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