Attorney Sentenced in Wire
Fraud Costing Victims More Than $4.5 Million
United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt
announced that Cameron Campbell, formerly an attorney
based in La Jolla, California, was sentenced today
in U.S. District Court in San Diego by the Honorable
Barry Ted Moskowitz to serve 63 months in federal custody,
based on Campbell’s convictions for conspiracy
and wire fraud. In addition to the custodial sentence,
Judge Moskowitz ordered that Campbell serve a three-year
term of supervised release following his release from
prison and pay over $4.5 million in restitution to
the victims in the case.
According to Assistant United States Attorneys William
Cole and John Owens, who prosecuted the case, many
victims believed they could trust Campbell because
he was an attorney. More than 90 victims lost a total
of over $4.5 million in the scheme. Many investors
were retirees who invested, and lost, retirement savings.
Following his guilty plea in this case, Campbell resigned
from the State Bar of California and is no longer licensed
to practice law.
According to court records, Campbell and his coconspirators,
Joseph Wayne McCool and Donald John Manning, were charged
with operating "The Brixon Group Ltd." (“Brixon”),
a company which fraudulently solicited millions of
dollars from members of the public, supposedly for
participation in high-yield investment programs. Campbell
and his coconspirators allegedly induced people to
invest in Brixon by falsely representing that the investments
would generate returns of 10 percent per month, that
the State Bar of California insured the investors’ principal,
and that McCool was a banking expert who, prior to
working with Brixon, had successfully managed a large
private trust in Europe.
Both the United States Attorney's Office and the FBI
acknowledged the assistance of the Arizona Corporation
Commission in the investigation.
Campbell’s co-defendant, Donald Manning, was
apprehended in Nicaragua in late February 2008.
Law enforcement continues to seek the public's assistance
in locating Joseph Wayne McCool, whose whereabouts
are currently unknown.
DEFENDANT Case No. 06-CR-1021-BTM
Cameron Campbell
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
One Count -- Title 18, United States Code, Section
371 - Conspiracy to Commit Offenses Against the U.S.
One Count -- Title 18, United States Code, Section
1343 - Wire Fraud
PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Arizona Corporation Commission
