Prison term for developer who defrauded investors

From today's Chronicle,

A San Francisco real estate developer will spend eight years in prison and pay more than $17 million in restitution and fines for defrauding more than 700 investors, a judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup sentenced John A. Hickey, 49, on Thursday to 97 months in prison and ordered him to pay a $15,000 fine and $17.4 million in restitution. The judge told Hickey to begin serving his sentence July 7.

Hickey was convicted by a federal jury in November on two counts of securities fraud and eight counts of mail fraud after a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Federal prosecutors said Hickey raised about $20 million from 724 investors through his company, Continental Capital Financial Group, by offering shares in two limited partnerships. The partnerships were created to develop real estate in Napa and Sonoma, among other locations.

Somehow, however, the Department of Real Estate hasn't caught up with him yet, as his license is still active...

SEC vs. John A. Hickey [9th Circuit Court of Appeals] (PDF file)
SAN FRANCISCO REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER CONVICTED OF SECURITIES FRAUD AND MAIL FRAUD [Department of Justice]

Related: McKay Eviction Unmasks Real Estate Speculators [SF Tenant's Union]