Man Charged in Investment Fraud : Crime: Real estate scheme may have cost Southland customers $10 million, investigators say.

COSTA MESA — A 40-year-old Newport Beach resident remained in Riverside County Jail on Thursday after his arrest for allegedly bilking Southern California investors out of $10 million in a real estate investment scheme.

Richard Carl Huitt, who was arrested at his Newport Beach home on Aug. 13, was being held in lieu of $1 million in bail. Riverside County authorities allege that Huitt’s San Bernardino-based company had operated an illegal Ponzi scheme by soliciting money from investors to pay off previous financial obligations.

Huitt and Associates, investigators alleged, promised an 18% return on real estate investments involving second trust deeds on California real estate. But, according to court documents, Huitt recently told investors that his company’s remaining assets were equal to “less than 1% of the total invested dollars.”

Huitt and Associates evidently raised about $4.6 million from about 120 Inland Empire residents in recent years, said Pat Erickson, a Riverside County assistant district attorney. The alleged scheme is believed to have raised an additional $5.4 million from investors elsewhere in Southern California, Erickson said.

Investigators also believe that Huitt’s company solicited investments from as far away as Florida, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Huitt was booked into Riverside County Jail on Aug. 13 after being indicted on four counts of grand theft fraud and four counts of grand theft property. No other arrests were made in connection with the case.

Attempts to reach Huitt’s attorney were unsuccessful.

Investigators say they are also looking into whether Huitt was operating a similar scheme out of an office in Westminster.

“There’s a question on whether he in fact ceased operations (in San Bernardino) or whether he simply changed locations (to Westminster) and continued,” Erickson said.

According to court documents, Huitt has acknowledged that investor funds had all but disappeared. Investigators said that in a letter sent to investors, Huitt maintained that he “started my company(s) with the intent to conduct a proper and professional business. But . . . I have conducted an investment scheme . . . that was fraudulent and has led to the loss of investor funds.”