Man Attempts To Escape Arrest Using Submersible, Charged In $35 Million Ponzi Scheme

When federal agents tried to arrest a Palo Cedro man for a massive ponzi scheme Monday, he reportedly tried escape using his own submersible. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 44-year-old Matthew Piercey and an accomplice, 67-year-old Kenneth Winton of Oroville, ripped off investors for $35 Million through a company called “Family Wealth Legacy” and another called “Zolla”. Piercey claimed to be building an “Upvestor Fund”, an algorithmic trading fund with a history of success. Prosecutors say that fund did not exist and the five year scheme all fell apart in August of this year. He also allegedly tried to dissuade multiple witnesses from speaking to a federal grand jury. On Monday, F.B.I. Agents went to arrest Piercey and he reportedly fled in his pickup truck to Lake Shasta, where he spent about 30 minutes underwater with a Yamaha submersible device before resurfacing and being taken into custody.

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