Brett Michael Bartlett, 37, from Fountain Valley, California, has been sentenced to 188 months (approximately 15.5 years) in federal prison for his role in a large-scale fraud scheme that defrauded investors of over $22.5 million. In addition to his prison sentence, Bartlett will serve three years of supervised release and is ordered to pay restitution to his victims.
Bartlett operated two companies, Dynasty Toys and 7M E-group, through which he devised an elaborate scheme to defraud investors. He solicited funds by promising high returns of 20% to 40% annually and convinced investors to buy preferred stock shares in his companies, claiming that their value would dramatically increase.
However, Bartlett’s claims about the financial success of his companies were false. He exaggerated the value of his business assets, including falsely stating that Dynasty Toys owned gold worth hundreds of millions of dollars and that the company would soon be sold for $120 million. Bartlett also misrepresented the returns his companies were generating and used investor funds for personal luxuries, including a family retreat at Big Bear Lake in California.
Despite financial difficulties and bounced checks sent to investors in 2020, Bartlett continued to solicit funds, ultimately collecting over $22.5 million from more than 1,000 investors, including over 50 from Central Illinois. The court found that his fraudulent actions caused investors to lose their entire investments.
As a result, Bartlett has been ordered to pay full restitution to his victims, ensuring some compensation for the losses incurred from his deceitful scheme.
