United States District Judge Morrison C.
England, Jr. sentenced Daniel Chartraw, 40, formerly of El Dorado
County, today to four years and nine months in prison and ordered him to
pay $2.8 million in restitution, United States Attorney Benjamin B.
Wagner announced.
Chartraw pleaded guilty to wire fraud on January 24, 2013. Many
victims submitted letters discussing the impact of Chartraw’s fraud on
their finances and their families. Judge England, in sentencing the
defendant, referred to these letters and stated that “these are very
traumatic crimes” and that the “problem is not only loss of money but
also loss of trust.”
According to court documents, between January 1, 2007 and November
31, 2011, Chartraw defrauded many investors through false
representations regarding a variety of investments, including
investments in mines, mining and refinery equipment, oil commodities,
precious metals concentrate, and multi-million-dollar certificates of
deposit. In one instance, Chartraw stole $1 million by fraudulently
posing as an owner and manager of a company selling “dore” bars, which
Chartraw claimed contained precious metals. Chartraw arranged for an
investor to tour the company and managed to limit the investor’s
interaction with the company’s true owners and prevent discovery of the
scheme. When the investor placed $1 million into an escrow account for
the purchase of the dore bars, Chartraw used a forged letter to get the
escrow company to send the money to accounts he and others controlled.
This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI. Assistant
United States Attorney Michael D. Anderson prosecuted the case and
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Khasigian prosecuted the
forfeiture of Chartraw’s assets.
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