Inland Empire Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Federal Prison for Bogus Debt-Elimination Services

Inland Empire Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Federal Prison for Bogus Debt-Elimination Services that Cost Victims $1.6 Million


LOS ANGELES – A Riverside man was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison for defrauding hundreds of victims, mainly distressed homeowners who paid thousands of dollars after attending seminars that promoted a “Free and Clear” program pitched by the defendant and his salespeople.

James Ignatius Diamond, 69, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner.

At the conclusion of a six-day trial in June, Diamond was found guilty by a jury of 15 counts of mail fraud affecting a financial institution and 15 counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

Between 2010 and 2013, Diamond sold fraudulent debt-elimination services to desperate victims whose finances had been ravaged by the Great Recession. Diamond owned and operated a number of businesses – including the Riverside-based Transmitting Assets Inc., Operation Safe Haven, Buyer Beware, and Unlimited Logistics Corp. – through which he fraudulently offered services that he claimed could wipe out the debts of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments and other debts.

Diamond personally pitched the “Diamond Home Reclamation Method” to solicit victims with false promises that his methods would entirely eliminate their mortgages and allow people to own their homes “free and clear.”

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/inland-empire-man-sentenced-nearly-6-years-federal-prison-bogus-debt-elimination