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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Abené Clayton

Man who scammed California Jewish community out of $7m gets seven years

A wooden gavel above a sound block.
The Mizrahi brothers ran a firm that boasted an annual return rate of 30% to double the original investment, according to court records. Photograph: Bjorn Wylezich/Alamy

A southern California man has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison after he and his younger brother scammed more than 40 people out of $7m in investments. Their fraud targeted victims from the San Fernando Valley’s Orthodox Jewish Israeli community.

From 2012 to 2019, Sassi and his brother and co-defendant Motty Mizrahi ran an investment and money management firm called MBIG Company that boasted risk-free investments and an annual return rate of 30% to double the original investment, according to court records. To add legitimacy to MBIG, Motty Mizrahi also passed himself off as a licensed broker, certified accountant and veteran trader.

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