Re: Ray Eugene Chasten
CHASTEN
Posted By: Barb S (email) In Response To: Re: Ray Eugene Chasten (Rhonda Medearis)
Date: 3/5/2008 at 13:49:54
Found this information. Think this is who you are looking for.
Hunter
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 2941Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:24 am Post subject: Raymond Eugene Chasten
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Source: US Attorney District of Idaho
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON
June 7, 2007CONTACT: JEAN McNEIL
Public Information Officer
(208) 334-1211LAS VEGAS MAN SENTENCED FOR DEFRAUDING REXBURG COUPLE OF $4 MILLION
Raymond Eugene Chasten will serve 46 months in federal prison for defrauding a Rexburg couple out of $4 million by making false representations about an investment program, U.S. Attorney Tom Moss announced today.
At his sentencing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Pocatello, Chasten was also ordered to pay a fine of $38,000 and restitution of $819,097.15. He was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence immediately.
Chasten, 62, was convicted in September after a two-week trial. He was found guilty of one count of wire fraud and one count of interstate theft.
According to court documents and testimony at trial, Chasten contacted the victims, purporting to have millions of dollars in an overseas account that needed to be brought into the country. Chasten told the couple that their investment of $4 million, along with his own $6 million investment, would allow him to bring his funds from overseas into the United States.
After being assured that their money would be placed in a non-depleting bank account with no risk, that it could not be transferred or spent without their written approval, that they could withdraw their funds at any time, and that they stood to make a generous return, the victims invested $4 million in the "project."
Shortly thereafter, the victims' money was transferred from a Pasadena, California, bank, to one in Idaho Falls and used by Chasten to purchase a home and a helicopter from the victims and to pay other expenses. When one of the victims contacted the Pasadena bank, he found that the account contained only $2,000. The representations Chasten made to the victims were later shown to be false.
Once the victims got their home back and collected from Chasten through their private attorney, their loss was reduced to about $800,000, which reflects the restitution ordered by the court at sentencing.
Chasten used business trusts to hide his involvement with the investment scheme and to allow him to blame the trustees, whom he hired and controlled, for the loss of the invested funds.
The case was investigated by the FBI, assisted at trial by the IRS.
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