Niles Financial Adviser Charged Over $3.5 Million Ponzi Scheme

NILES, IL — A Niles financial adviser preyed on elderly Filipino families to feed her gambling habit and pay for personal expenses in a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme that lasted nearly a decade, according to federal criminal and civil charges. Instead of investing more than $3 million provided by clients who had been falsely promised safe, low-risk investments, the self-proclaimed financial professional allegedly squandered most of it at casinos, on airline tickets, or for credit card payments and other personal expenses.

Lucita A. Zamoras, 55, operated various businesses out of offices at 8933 W. Golf Road and billed herself as a "specialist in retirement products and custom insurance services," according to an archived copy of her now-defunct website, which featured an introduction flashing the phrases, "Retirement dreams," "Going places," "Grandchildren," "Freedom to choose," "Lifetime income.”

"Lu" Zamoras took those dreams of grandchildren and blew through more than $1 million at various casinos between October 2011 and March 2013 alone, according to a complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Despite cleaning out the accounts of those who entrusted their savings with her, the FBI said she arranged for false financial statements to be sent to the families who were funding her lifestyle claiming there was still money in their accounts.

"She strives to help her clients protect their assets and secure their well-earned retirement in all economic environments," said her online biography. It asserted she spent more than 20 years in "senior corporate management positions before finding her passion helping retirees" and started to advise clients in 2000.

According to charges from federal prosecutors and securities regulators, Zamoras fraudulently obtained at least $3.5 million and swindled at least 12 clients out of more than $2.5 million between 2009 and 2018. She promised returns of 3 to 5 percent annual interest, but never invested any of her clients' funds, the SEC said.

A native of the Philippines, Zamoras gained the trust of her clients "by conveying a sense of shared experience," according to the SEC's civil complaint, and used that trust to gain full access to the funds of mostly elderly members of the Chicago Filipino community. The complaint said she convinced them the funds would be placed in safe, interest-bearing investments, all the while intending "to use the funds to feed her gambling habit."

In an attempt to hide the scheme, prosecutors said, Zamoras used recently raised investment funds to make payments to some earlier investors. Those "Ponzi-type" payments were kept secret from other investors, according to criminal charges filed Oct. 10.

Zamoras faces one count of mail fraud in connection with sending a false quarterly account statement to an investor in Schaumburg, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago. Mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

As part of a settlement with the SEC, Zamoras has already been ordered to pay back almost $1 million in profits and a fine of $75,000. She did not admit wrongdoing in accepting that final judgement. A citation to discover assets was filed last month in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, indicating she has not paid back the money.

According to the SEC complaint, those who invested with Zamoras were "all unsophisticated investors with little prior investment experience. Many are first-generation immigrants who have worked their entire life to save for their retirement and are now left with nothing."

Zamoras has never received any professional license with the state, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. She has also never been registered with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission "in any capacity," according to the agency's civil complaint.

Several of Zamoras' businesses have been dissolved involuntarily, according to Illinois Secretary of State records. The most recent, First Fidelity Tax, lost its certificate in April 2018. But some remain active.

One of firms, JQH Ventures, had an active certificate with the state listing an address of 8933 W. Golf Road as of August, according to the secretary of state's office. Cornerstone Home Solutions, operating out of a property at 24 S. Aberdeen St. in Chicago that Zamoras and James Mescall purchased in 2006 for $430,500, also maintained an active license.

A woman who answered the phone at a listed number for Zamoras hung up when asked about her. Other listed numbers for her businesses had been disconnected or had full mailboxes. A message requesting comment sent to her business email address has not been returned. A listed attorney for Zamoras has not responded to questions or a request for comment.

Find out more about how to avoid investment fraud from the SEC at Investor.gov, which also includes a searchable database of licensed financial advisers.