The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office has charged Lonnie Crawford Nielson, 46, of Wilton with 12 counts of grand theft. The part owner of the Capitols professional tennis team is alleged to embezzled more than $760,000 from clients.
Nielson was the owner of a 1031 exchange business in which real estate sellers temporarily place their sale proceeds in a separate bank trust account until making a future purchase of real estate property.
The district attorney’s office says that Nielsen, instead of setting up separate 1031 accounts for 11 clients, used their money to pay off debts he owed to other clients, including an investment in the La Rivage Hotel in Sacramento.
Nielsen allegedly stole the 1031 funds between May 2009 and December 2009, says the district attorney. If convicted of all charges, Nielson could be sentenced up to 16 years, 8 months in prison.
