By Denny Walsh
Christopher J. Warren, who fled the country with a fortune in gold and returned with a paltry $70,000 in cash stuffed into the cowboy boots he was wearing, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Sacramento federal court to identify theft and wire fraud related to cheating lenders out of $19 million.
Warren, 29, was one of three men who skipped the country while under investigation as part of a federal probe of Roseville-based Loomis Wealth Solutions, which authorities say was a front for a Ponzi scheme that spread over five states and clipped investors for at least $100 million. He had been feeding government agents and attorneys information before fleeing on Feb. 2, 2009.
Warren, a former Folsom resident, was charged in a criminal complaint three days after chartering a private jet in Las Vegas and flying to Beirut. A week later, he flew into Toronto. From there, he took a taxi 100 miles to Buffalo, where his odyssey ended in the hands of U. S. border officers. He was arrested on the Peace Bridge that connects Buffalo with Fort Erie, Ontario.
In addition to the cash in his boots, he had $5,800 worth of platinum and phony passports. But there was no sign of $5 million in gold he allegedly had with him when he left the country. He has been in jail since his arrest.
As part of his guilty plea, Warren confessed to bilking mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker out of more than $7 million, and to fraudulent loans totaling $12 million in connection with his employment at Loomis Wealth Solutions in 2007 and 2008.
He also admitted engaging in aggravated identity theft by fraudulently obtaining passports in the names of real persons who were unaware of what he was doing. He used the stolen identities to purchase gold and travel abroad.
Warren is scheduled for sentencing April 24.
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