Man gets 29 years for role in $190 million investment scam

An 81-year-old man was sentenced to 29 years in prison on Friday for his role in a huge investment scam that cost seniors about $190 million.

John Heath was also ordered to pay $117 million in restitution by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Ronald Taylor.

Heath was convicted in January of 52 counts that included grand theft, selling false securities and theft from the elderly.

He was one of three people, including his son Daniel Heath, who were found guilty of running a Ponzi scheme that funneled money from new investors to pay off people who had already pumped in cash.
Prosecutors estimate 1,800 people in 25 states lost money.

About 100 letters from victims were sent to the court, with about a dozen being read to the judge, said Ingrid Wyatt, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County district attorney's office.
The notes talked about how the victims' lives had been affected after learning their investments with Daniel W. Heath & Associates had been lost.

Some of Heath's adult children spoke at the hearing, pleading for leniency for their father. Heath's attorney, Chad Firetag, asked the judge for probation, citing his client's age and failing health.
Firetag has said the elder Heath wasn't aware of the scam and had enough trust in his son that he plowed his own commissions back into the investments.

Prosecutors said the company ran a scam dating back to the early 1990s that promised clients their money would go into fixed investments with little or no risk. Instead, it went to money-losing real estate and small business projects controlled by the company that had offices across Southern California.

Investors have had some money returned, but a court-appointed receiver said they will get only about 22 cents on every dollar.

Company president Daniel W. Heath, 51, was convicted of nearly 400 counts and could face as many as 100 years in prison. A former business associate Denis O'Brien, 53, could face up to 30 years in prison. Both men will be sentenced in the coming weeks.

Another business associate, Larre Schlarmann, is serving a 15-year prison term after pleading guilty in 2005 to money laundering and fraud for his involvement in the scheme.