SANTA ANA, California – A Costa Mesa man has been arrested on federal fraud and money laundering charges alleging he helped run a fraudulent investment scheme that raised $13.8 million by promising investors returns of up to 10 percent that would be generated through real estate deals.
Brett Barber, 42, who was a co-owner of the Newport Beach-based BNZ Capital One, LLC, was arrested Thursday morning by special agents with the FBI. Barber, who is charged in a six-count indictment returned Wednesday by a federal grand jury, entered not guilty pleas Thursday afternoon during an arraignment in United States District Court.
Another owner of BNZ Capital – Louis Zimmerle, 62, of Sacramento – was charged Thursday with one count of wire fraud. In a plea agreement also filed Thursday in United States District Court, Zimmerle agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense.
Also on Thursday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil lawsuit naming Barber, Zimmerle and BNZ Capital.
According to court documents, since the spring of 2019, BNZ Capital, its principals and several marketers raised money by falsely representing that the firm bought and sold real estate projects and “flipped” real estate. Barber, Zimmerle and the marketers falsely promised investors a “guaranteed” return of between 8 percent and 10 percent, as well as potential…
