Peninsula Man Who Embezzled $800K From Would-Be Investors Headed to Prison

REDWOOD CITY, CA- A San Mateo County Superior Court judge sentenced a South San Francisco man who defrauded would-be investors of around $800,000 to five years in prison on Friday, according to prosecutors.

Floro Lorenzo Cruz, 71, pleaded no contest on Aug. 31 to two counts of felony embezzlement in San Mateo Superior Court with enhancements for stealing more than $200,000 in return for the five-year prison sentence, prosecutors said.

As part of his sentence, Judge Leland Davis ordered Cruz to pay nearly $931,000 in restitution to six of his victims, as well as $330 to the state's restitution fund.

Police arrested Cruz in 2012 after a yearlong investigation, according to San Francisco police. Cruz had posed as an investor, convincing six different people to give him money for overseas projects, including power plants and real estate, according to prosecutors.

The case saw repeated delays, with jury trial dates set and changed 11 times since January 2013.

Cruz had been out of custody on a $500,000 bail bond but was remanded for transportation to state prison to serve his sentence on Friday, prosecutors said.

– By Bay City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.