By Bee Staff
A former Sacramento man will be arraigned Tuesday on federal charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, according U.S. District Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.
A federal grand jury recently returned a nine-count indictment against James Berghuis, 38, formerly of Sacramento and now residing in Laguna Niguel, Wagner said in a news release.
The indictment alleges that Berghuis operated Berghuis National Lending Inc., a Sacramento mortgage and lending company.
Berghuis offered short-term bridge loans for clients funded by private investors. Berghuis would identify clients in need of bridge loans and act as the intermediary between the clients and investors, Wagner said.
The indictment alleges that beginning no later than April 2005, Berghuis began making false representations to investors and using investor funds to pay off other investors, pay business expenses, and pay his personal expenses, Wagner said. No dollar amount of the alleged fraud was given.
Berghuis is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows.
This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Wagner said.
The federal government has task force investigating financial fraud. For more information on the task force go to StopFraud.gov.
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