Con Man Accused in Stock Scheme That Bilked 5 of $37,500

A convicted con man who posed as a wealthy stockbroker has been charged with felony grand theft for allegedly swindling five Antelope Valley residents out of $37,500 by selling them bogus IBM stock certificates, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Friday.

Jonathan Giovanni Guccione, 29, of Redondo Beach also is believed to have used similar scams to defraud at least 14 other people elsewhere in Los Angeles and Orange counties and in at least two other states, although charges have not been filed in those cases, the district attorney’s office said.

Guccione remained in county custody Friday in lieu of $150,000 bail after his scheduled arraignment in Antelope Municipal Court was continued to Jan. 11. He was charged Dec. 4 with eight counts of grand theft stemming from the five Antelope Valley cases.

Sheriff’s Detective Dennis Papp said Guccione posed as a broker for Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc., driving about in limousines and a new sports car, handing out tickets to sports events and promising his victims returns on their investments of sixfold or better within several months.

“I guess he was quite a talker. Apparently, he has a pretty good delivery,” Papp said. “He promised them short-term, high-yield returns on their investments. It sounded like too good of a deal to pass up.”

Because the counterfeit stock certificates looked real--complete with the company’s name, the purchasers’ names and other details--authorities had to contact IBM to confirm that they were in fact worthless, Deputy Dist. Atty. Cynthia Leigh Ulfig said. In the Antelope Valley between May and July, one man lost $15,000, one woman lost $7,500, and two men and a woman lost $5,000 apiece, according to Ulfig. Guccione, if convicted, could be sentenced to up to nine years in state prison and be ordered to repay his victims, Papp added.

Ulfig said the investigation produced evidence that Guccione had used similar stock ploys on at least nine other victims in California, Nevada and Virginia. The loss to victims in those cases was $6,750, Ulfig said. At least five other Southern California victims refused to participate in the investigation, Papp said.

Guccione was arrested at his Redondo Beach residence in mid-September after one of his alleged victims became suspicious and filed a complaint. Guccione was on parole at the time for a prior fraud conviction, Ulfig said. State prison officials said Guccione also had been convicted of grand theft and forgery.