South OC Man Scammed $62.5M From Clients Via Ponzi Scheme, DoJ Says

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — An Orange County man has been charged with defrauding hundreds of investors out of approximately $62.5 million via a promissory note scam involving real estate, broadway shows and cryptocurrency, the Justice Department announced.

Marco Giovanni Santarelli's Laguna Niguel-based private equity firm, Norada Capital Management, was billed as offering unsecured, high-yield promissory notes backed by investments in Broadway musicals, real estate and cryptocurrency.

But federal authorities allege that the entire firm was a scam, a Ponzi scheme that scammed around 500 clients across the country of $62.5 million in investments.

The investments ranged from retirement money, family savings and nest eggs, according to the DoJ.

Santarelli was charged Monday, Sept. 8 with one count of wire fraud.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

Federal investigators have seized more than $5 million connected to the scheme and are searching for more assets, according to a news release.

According to federal investigators, from June 2020 to June 2024, Santarelli solicited hundreds of investors nationwide to invest in unsecured promissory notes ranging from $25,000 to $500,000.

No further information was immediately available.