BRIGHTON, Colo. — A Brighton man was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for scamming his own friends and family members out of more than $1 million, according to the the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Upon completion of his 63-month sentence, Anthony Bueno, 45, will serve three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $1,301,829.16 in restitution to the victims of his crime.
The sentence is in addition to a 30-month federal prison sentence imposed two weeks ago for his role in a separate bribery scheme.
Bueno and his girlfriend are accused of conspiring to launder more than $1 million taken from friends and family through two wire fraud schemes.
According to court records and Bueno's plea agreement, he devised and executed two schemes targeting his own family and friends. In one of the schemes — known as the “surety bond scheme” — Bueno falsely claimed to victims that they could earn returns of up to 2,500% by investing in surety bonds related to government construction projects.
To bolster his claims, Bueno provided notarized documents, including one promising an investor that surety bonds purchased for $500,000 were actually worth $18.9 million.
In the other scheme, known as the “start-up scheme,” Bueno preyed on his own family by falsely convincing relatives, including a recent college graduate and her parents, that if they gave him money he could help them start a government contracting business.
Court records show that he later told those same relatives that because he had helped create the contracting business while having his own government contracts, he was under investigation for collusion and needed money to defend himself.
Bueno used lies and deceit to obtain more than $1.3 million, which he laundered through accounts controlled by his girlfriend, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
He used the money on vehicles and personal expenses and to pay restitution he owed as a result of a prior conviction in state court.
Cara Church Underwood pleaded guilty in a separate case to participating in the same surety bond scheme. Her sentencing is set for Feb. 27.
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