Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Criminal Charges Filed Against Real Estate Company At Center Of LAist Studio's 'California City' Podcast
California City is filled with signs advertising vacant land for sale.
(
Chava Sanchez
/
LAist
)
In my podcast California City, I told the story of a small town in the Mojave Desert where, for more than six decades, salespeople have been peddling nearly worthless desert land to unsuspecting people. Now, the California Attorney General has charged nine of those salespeople with felonies.
The dark side of the American dream.
All of the defendants are affiliated with Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, a remote desert resort in California City about an hour and a half north of L.A., where salespeople offered free weekend vacations to Latino, Filipino and Chinese consumers in exchange for sitting through a high-pressure sales pitch. Many of those consumers ended up spending tens of thousands of dollars on land they were made to believe would be worth much more in the near future. It wasn’t.
Prosecutors charged Thomas Maney, the 83 year-old owner of Silver Saddle, Marian Ducreux, 68, one of the company’s top sales people, and seven other former sales agents, managers and employees of the ranch in late May.
Support for LAist comes from
The charges include conspiracy to commit a crime, grand theft of personal property, securities fraud and use of a scheme to defraud a consumer regarding the sale of securities. All the defendants have entered not guilty pleas.
The allegations against the defendants include that they:
"...deliberately targeted investors from the Chinese, Filipino, and Latino communities, many of whom spoke little or no English and were not able to read the sales documents that accompanied their investment, by having raffles at local markets in Los Angeles County for free dinners that eventually led them to the Silver Saddle Ranch for a sales presentation filled with misrepresentations."
Ben Perez is one of the more than 2,000 people who invested money with Silver Saddle. He spent a free weekend there in 2017, and ended up forking over $30,000 for a confusing, desert-land investment product.
He was shocked to hear the news of the criminal charges.
Support for LAist comes from
“I wish (the salespeople) realize how much they cost all the families,” he said. “I wish they would give the money back to us.”
When I interviewed Thomas Maney for the podcast in early 2019, he told me, “Well, first of all, we've never misrepresented. We just don't do it. I mean, it’s the way I live my life.”
In my reporting, I learned that Silver Saddle’s land sale scheme was essentially an open secret in Kern County. It had been going on for years.
Consumers had filed almost three dozen complaints with various agencies: the Kern County District Attorney, the California Department of Real Estate, even the Federal Trade Commission, but the company continued to operate until 2019.
That’s when the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation raided Silver Saddle’s headquarters, halted all sales operations and took control of its bank accounts. The agency accused Silver Saddle, Maney, Ducreux and other defendants of securities fraud and selling unqualified securities. That case, which is a separate civil lawsuit unrelated to the new criminal charges, is set to go to trial in September.
The Attorney General’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
About The California City podcast
-
Deep in the Mojave Desert, there is a little town with a big name and a bizarre history: California City. For decades, real estate developers have sold a dream here: if you buy land now, you’ll be rich one day. Thousands of people bought this dream. Many were young couples and hard-working immigrants looking to build a better future. But much of the land they bought is nearly worthless. In this new podcast from LAist Studios, host Emily Guerin tells a story of money, power and deception.
Support for LAist comes from
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago. -
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
Best of LAist