Former deputy spent millions on gambling, private jet in CA investment scam, feds say
A former California sheriff’s deputy spent millions on private jet flights, gambling and luxury items after swindling $5.6 million in an investment scam, federal officials said.
Christopher Lloyd Burnell, a 51-year-old from Highland, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of wire fraud and two counts of filing a false tax return on Monday, May 9, according to plea documents.
An attorney for Burnell did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on May 11.
Burnell told people he had exclusive investment opportunities that would have rates of return of 100% within a few weeks, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California said in a news release.
People then invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the sham opportunities, the release states. At first, Burnell returned their investment to gain their trust during an “initial trial investment” before asking for more money, the release states.
Burnell falsely told people he won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the County of San Bernardino for an injury he said he got while working as a deputy at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, according to an indictment.
He also falsely said he won a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente for medical malpractice to make him appear wealthy, the indictment shows.
To convince people they would see a return on their investment, Burnell showed them a bank statement with a $150 million balance, even though he only had just over $6,400 in his account, the indictment shows.
Burnell made $5.6 million in the scheme from 2010 to 2017, the release states. He lost $2 million gambling at the San Manuel Casino in Highland; he spent $500,000 on private jet flights and $70,000 at Louis Vuitton. He also bought luxury cars and an apartment lease for a girlfriend, the release states.
He will be sentenced on Aug. 15. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and three years maximum for each filing a false tax return count.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Former deputy spent millions on gambling, private jet in CA investment scam, feds say."
