Area man gets 8 years for scam

Illya Bond, a Newport Beach resident and former chief executive officer of PowerSource Corp. of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for running an investment scam through his company.

Bond, 57, was found guilty in January of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and making a false statement to FBI agents. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson, who sentenced Bond Monday, also ordered him to pay more than $2.4 million in restitution to former clients.

PowerSource, which went out of business in 2001, conducted fraudulent sales through spam e-mails, sales calls and a website. Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, said the case against PowerSource began with an investigation in Florida. The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Federal Trade Commission joined together in the investigation.

“There’s a lot of hucksters and con men and scammers out there ripping people off in every way imaginable,” Mrozek said. “We certainly have seen many different types of investment scams over the years.”

Mrozek said that Bond had been “bouncing back and forth” from Santa Ana to Newport Beach in recent years, but said that his most recent residence was in Newport Beach.