SSF Man Pleads No Contest to Embezzlement in Investment Fraud Case

A South San Francisco man who prosecutors say defrauded would-be investors of around $800,000 pleaded no contest Monday to felony embezzlement charges.

Floro Lorenzo Cruz pleaded no contest to two counts of felony embezzlement in San Mateo County Superior Court with enhancements for stealing more than $200,000 in return for an agreed upon maximum sentence of five years state prison for each count, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

Cruz, 70, was arrested in 2012 after a yearlong investigation, according to South San Francisco police.

He allegedly posed as an investor and convinced six different people to give him money for overseas projects including power plants and real estate, according to prosecutors.

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

Cruz remains out of custody on $500,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 2 for sentencing.

--Bay City News Service, photo via Shutterstock