Michael Lew said he hopes a former state House candidate gets the maximum prison term for taking $1.4 million from him and other investors in a nightclub and promotion company that turned out to be nonexistent.
Lew admitted he did not follow his own advice of checking where his money was going and as a result became one of the Ponzi scheme victims of Jason Pascua.
Pascua, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to one count of wire fraud for accepting a $64,930 wire transfer from one of his victims in October. He faces a maximum 20-year prison term when he is sentenced in September. He will also have to pay back the money he took from his victims.
Pascua admitted that he persuaded friends and family members to invest $1.4 million in the phony company by promising his victims returns of 25 to 50 percent.
The government said Pascua collected $1,430,100 from 2009 to October 2012. Instead of investing the money in his company, J2 Marketing Solutions, Pascua used the cash from new "investors" to pay earlier investors to create the illusion of investment returns. He also used some of it to pay his expenses.
Pascua unsuccessfully challenged state Rep. Ken Ito for the 48th District seat (Heeia-Kaneohe) in the 2010 Democratic primary. He is also an Army reservist and a former president and director of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.
U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi has allowed Pascua to return to Las Vegas, where he now lives, pending sentencing.
Lew told reporters after Thursday’s hearing that a friend introduced Pascua to him. He said Pascua joined their close circle of friends and manipulated the trust they gave him to rip them off. He said the friend who introduced Pascua to him also lost money.
He said he hopes Pascua gets the maximum sentence because that is how long it will take him to pay back the money he borrowed to invest with Pascua. He declined to disclose how much he lost and said he holds out no hope that Pascua will pay him back.
Lew said he gave his money to Pascua around July 2010 and realized he had been bilked by August when Pascua missed a promised payment. He said he then hired a lawyer. Lew sued Pascua in October 2010.
Two other people have lawsuits pending against Pascua and J2 Marketing Solutions in state courts.
Lew said he feels more guilt than anything for making a bad decision.
