THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230493
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
A jury convicted a Peninsula man in federal court Thursday of defrauding 11 investors of about $628,000 since 1989.
Salomon S. Loayza, 39, was found guilty of five counts of mail fraud after a four-day trial. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and up to $1.25 million in fines when he is sentenced on Sept. 28.
His co-defendant, Robert Allen Shirey, pleaded guilty March 30 to one count of mail fraud.
Loayza and Shirey owned three investment companies on the Peninsula: Colonial Capitol Resources Inc. and Salomon, Roberts and Co. Inc., both of Hampton; and Provident Capital Management of Newport News.
According to court records, the two promised clients - most of whom were elderly - that their money would be invested in nationally known mutual funds and then returned, with interest, after a specified period.
However, the money was never invested, prosecutors said. Instead, the two used the money to pay off personal and business expenses. The scheme lasted from March 1989 to December 1993.
Except for some early investors who recovered a small portion of their investments in the form of the bogus interest payments, Loayza's clients lost their money.
Loayza's bond was revoked until his sentencing hearing.
KEYWORDS: FRAUD TRIAL VERDICT by CNB