$2 Million Swindle of Suburban Chicago Resident Results in Two-and-a-Half-Year Prison Sentence

CHICAGO - A California man who claimed to be an investment advisor has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for swindling a suburban Chicago resident out of $2 million.

Over the course of six months in 2023, RAYMOND ECHAVEZ VILLAMOR fraudulently solicited and obtained a $2 million investment from an individual residing in Glenview, Ill. Villamor made false representations about the purported investment and falsely promised that the victim would receive all his money back, plus a substantial return. Villamor instead used the money on personal expenses, including to purchase, among other things, vintage automobiles. Villamor had also raised funds from other investors and used some of the money from the Glenview victim to repay those investors in classic Ponzi-scheme conduct.

Villamor, 62, of Newport Beach, Calif., pleaded guilty in 2025 to a federal wire fraud charge. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood imposed the 30-month prison sentence and ordered Villamor to pay full restitution to his victim.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Hasten.