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OC investment guru charged with bilking $62.5 million from clients – Orange County Register

By Tony Saavedra Orange County Register 

UPDATED: September 9, 2025 at 6:44 PM PDT

Marco Giovanni Santarelli billed himself as a “wealth creator.”

On podcasts and websites, Santarelli, 56, pitched his Laguna Niguel private equity firm, Norada Capital Management, which offered unsecured, high-yield promissory notes backed by investments in Broadway musicals, real estate and cryptocurrency.

But federal authorities allege it was all a scam, a Ponzi scheme that bilked some 500 clients nationwide of $62.5 million in investments — retirement money, family savings, nest eggs.

Santarelli was charged Monday, Sept. 8, with one count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

Investigators have seized more than $5 million connected to the scheme and are looking for more assets, said a news release.

According to the federal accusation, Santarelli solicited investors from June 2020 to June 2024 to invest in promissory notes ranging from $25,000 to $500,000. Santarelli was billed on the Internet Broadway Database as a producer, involved in such musicals as “The Who’s Tommy,” “Cabaret” and “A Beautiful Noise.”

Investors were promised monthly interest payments, around 12% to 15%, over three to seven years, authorities said. The money would come from investments in the musicals, real property, ecommerce and cryptocurrency, said the news release.

Santarelli gave balance sheets to investors listing the status of the assets, liabilities, and equity of Norada. Those sheets listed the total asset value of $143.3 million to $224 million.

However, Norada did not pay all the promised returns and interest payments. Instead, the fund invested in risky assets that were unprofitable, had very little return on investment, and carried a large amount of debt, said the news release. The balance sheets sent to investors hid more than $90 million in debt and included inflated assets. Santarelli skimmed from some investors to make interest payments to others, authorities said.

The investigation is continuing by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Chief Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Waier.

Santarelli did not respond to an email seeking comment.

One victim, Glendale, Arizona, firefighter Gregg Lentz, said he found Norada through an ad on Facebook. He watched Santarelli’s podcasts and read the website testimonials. Lentz even talked to Santarelli by phone.

Lentz, 48, then invested $400,000, hoping to create generational wealth for his five children. “It was money I worked hard for,” he said. For a while, the monthly interest payments came as promised, totaling $180,000, he said. Then the payments stopped. Lentz said it took 25 years of hard work to build up that money. “Do I work another 25 years to get it back?” He added that Saltarelli “ruined a lot of people’s lives. I’m glad to see some progress, because we’ve been living in limbo for 16-17 months.

Trista Yerkich, 44, of Dallas heard about Norada from a Honolulu investment counselor. She checked out the company and found that Santarelli appeared to have a good reputation. Yerkich invested $200,000 in October 2023. By June 2024, the monthly interest payments had stopped and Norada gave her equity in the company instead — a company that she believed had no valuation. “There’s no way he didn’t know he was going to pull this,” Yerkich said. “It will absolutely affect my retirement. … I have lost a lot of sleep and cried a lot of tears.”

She cheered the news Tuesday that Santarelli had been charged, but wondered if investors would ever be made whole. “So many people have been impacted by this,” Yerkich said. “It’s a step in the right direction, but what does it mean in getting our money?”

Retired attorney Bill Keown, 71, of Florida sunk $700,000 that he earned by flipping houses. He, too, said he researched Santarelli and trusted him. “Now I’m in a place I never thought I’d be,” Keown said. “When this happens, you beat yourself up … how can I be so stupid?” 

Keown filed a lawsuit against Santarelli in September 2024 and received a default judgment for $750,000. He applauded the federal charge. “It’s high time,” he said Tuesday. “Hundreds of other investors were all waiting on pins and needles for this to happen.”

Working with victims was Barry Minkow, convicted in the ZZZZ Best Ponzi scheme in 1987 and now a self-styled fraud investigator. “For the dollar amount, the impact is deep and serious and crippling,” Minkow said.

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California

SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man who was the founder and CEO of a private equity fund 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 today.

Marco Giovanni Santarelli, 56, of Laguna Niguel, is charged with one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance on October 20 in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

According to an information filed Monday, Santarelli founded and was the CEO of Norada Capital Management (NCM), a Laguna Niguel-based private equity fund. 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. He promised via marketing a high-yield monthly interest rate – approximately 12% to 15% – over three to seven years.

Santarelli told investors they would receive monthly interest payments from income generated from five categories of businesses in which NCM would invest their money, including e-commerce, real estate, Broadway shows, and cryptocurrency.

Via webinars, Santarelli promised that the notes were backed by diversified assets under management and offered steady, predictable monthly returns. He further promised that NCM was to be a “hands-off passive investment,” perfect for retirement funds, according to the information.

Santarelli also provided balance sheets to investors listing the status of the assets, liabilities, and equity of NCM to the note holders, which listed the total asset value between $143.3 million and $224 million.

In fact, NCM did not pay the promised returns and interest payments. Instead, the fund invested in risky assets that did not provide the promised safety and security, was unprofitable, had very little return on investment, and a large amount of debt. The balance sheets sent to investors hid more than $90 million in debt and included inflated assets. In Ponzi-scheme fashion, Santarelli made interest payments to investors using other investors’ money.

In total, Santarelli caused more than 500 investors to lose approximately $62.5 million.

An information contains allegations. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Santarelli would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are investigating this matter with assistance from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Federal law enforcement has seized more than $5 million in proceeds connected to this scheme and continues to look for additional assets.

Chief Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Waier is prosecuting this case.

Central District of California | Former CEO of Orange County-Based Private Equity Fund Charged with Conning Investors Out of $62.5 Million via Bogus Promissory Notes | United States Department of Justice

Investors beware: Marco Sanatrelli = wealth DESTROYER. Created a ponzi, charged with wire fraud, he bilked $62.5 million from clients.

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California

SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man who was the founder and CEO of a private equity fund 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 today.

Marco Giovanni Santarelli, 56, of Laguna Niguel, is charged with one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance on October 20 in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

According to an information filed Monday, Santarelli founded and was the CEO of Norada Capital Management (NCM), a Laguna Niguel-based private equity fund. 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. He promised via marketing a high-yield monthly interest rate – approximately 12% to 15% – over three to seven years.

Santarelli told investors they would receive monthly interest payments from income generated from five categories of businesses in which NCM would invest their money, including e-commerce, real estate, Broadway shows, and cryptocurrency.

Via webinars, Santarelli promised that the notes were backed by diversified assets under management and offered steady, predictable monthly returns. He further promised that NCM was to be a “hands-off passive investment,” perfect for retirement funds, according to the information.

Santarelli also provided balance sheets to investors listing the status of the assets, liabilities, and equity of NCM to the note holders, which listed the total asset value between $143.3 million and $224 million.

In fact, NCM did not pay the promised returns and interest payments. Instead, the fund invested in risky assets that did not provide the promised safety and security, was unprofitable, had very little return on investment, and a large amount of debt. The balance sheets sent to investors hid more than $90 million in debt and included inflated assets. In Ponzi-scheme fashion, Santarelli made interest payments to investors using other investors’ money.

In total, Santarelli caused more than 500 investors to lose approximately $62.5 million.

An information contains allegations. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Santarelli would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are investigating this matter with assistance from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Federal law enforcement has seized more than $5 million in proceeds connected to this scheme and continues to look for additional assets.

Chief Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Waier is prosecuting this case.